Chronicles of a Hero
by Nommienommie
Summary: They had been kids together, grew up together and then she left. Now his father is missing and he needs all the help he can get. I totally suck at summerising. Rated M because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is my first Supernatural fanfic. Hope you all enjoy - I'm not american and I am trying to write american so I hope it's not too awful. I don't own Supernatural or anything relating to it so please don't sue. Please review, reviews make me happy!**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 1

I haven't felt this happy in a long time!

This was, is and always will be where I belong. Right here, spread out in the back of the Impala with the wind in my hair and the sun in my eyes.

I can't stop the wide smile that spreads across my face. He's looking at me in the rear view mirror – I look back into his amazing green eyes.

He's smiling too and my heart beats faster.

The Impala lurches forward. Dean always did have a heavy foot and a laugh escapes my lips.

As we speed down the deserted highway, the blood orange sun setting in the pink sky, I close my eyes and remember this morning.

I'd just finished blow drying my hair when I heard the doorbell ring. I heard mom say she'd get it so I started brushing my hair through.

I heard an excited scream and muffled voices and my curiosity was sufficiently peaked. So, I decided to go see who it was.

I was halfway down the stairs before I realised who it was standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"Dean"? I said in shock and I could feel my heart racing in my chest.

He looked up at me with that amazingly lopsided smile and his sparkly eyes.

"Well, just look at you" he said, smiling.

I ran down the rest of the stairs and practically threw myself at him, jumping into his strong arms. I remember he held me so tight against his chest and I tried to stop my heart from beating out of my chest.

Not for one moment had I ever stopped loving him.

Mom practically ran to go and find dad leaving us in the hall.

Dean placed me back on the floor and, looking up at him, I remembered just how tall he was, or rather, how short I was.

"I can't believe your back"! I said running my hands through my hair, suddenly very aware of how close he was. He smelled so good!

I took a step back, trying to resume my hearts normal rhythm.

"About that Sophie, I kinda need a favour". He said, his face fell and his eyes saddened somehow.

"What's wrong"? I asked, my brain on overdrive.

All I could think of was Sammy, not Sammy!

"It's not Sammy"? I asked, practically choking on the words.

"No" Dean said clearly, firmly. Squashing the terror that had gripped me.

"Its dad, he hasn't been home in a while. I think something has happened".

My heart had leapt into my throat and I could actually feel my face draining of any colour.

We sat on the kitchen counters, like we always did, sipping soda. He told me everything. He was on his way to go get Sammy from college to look for John and that he could use my help too

I didn't ask my parents if I could go, even if they'd said no I would've gone anyway and they knew it. I packed my yellow duffel bag with everything I could think of that I would need – it had been a long time since I had used that bag.

I kissed mom and dad goodbye and grabbed my embellished, threadbare denim jacket and Dean and me headed out. I had to try and hide a squeal of excitement as I saw the big, black, shiny Impala parked in the drive. I had missed that car.

Dean unlocked the car and lifted the driver's seat up so I could get in the back and it was like I had never left, like I hadn't missed out on the last 8 years.

He was smiling as he started up the engine and peeled out of the drive at breakneck speed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter and as always, I don't own anything so please don't sue. However, please review!**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 2

I shouldn't be this happy, it's not right, not when dad is missing.

I like having her back though.

She's sat right in the middle of the back seat, her arms spread out along the back of the seats smiling her pretty little head off, just like she used to.

I've got the windows open and the wind is making her hair fly around all over the place.

She's looking back at me now, and I rev the engine making the Impala shoot forward and she laughs, making me smile like an idiot.

I wish she hadn't left. These last 8 years have been the longest 8 years of my life. Would've been nice if she'd stuck around though.

The sun is starting to set and it's reflecting off of the Impala's hood and right into my eyes so I pull down the sun visor and an old crumpled photo falls out and blows into the back. She's smoothes it out and smiles.

Yeah, it's been a long time.

I hear an old, familiar song on the radio. Sophie must've heard it too 'cos she's leaning up out of her seat and twists the volume button all the way up so it's pumping out of the speakers. She's smiles at me and her eyes are all sparkly. She leans against the back of my seat, resting her head against the back and wraps her arms loosely around my neck.

Yeah, it's nice to have my Sophie back again.

She starts fiddling with the charm around my neck and I can hear her breathing getting deeper. She's falling asleep.

"Hey, no falling asleep Soph. If the driver can't sleep, passengers don't sleep" I say jokingly.

"I'm not tired" she protests, retrieving one of her hands from around my neck and pushing her hair behind her ear.

She leans forward and rests her chin on my shoulder.

"What time is it"? She asks.

She smells nice.

"Uh, 8:35" I say, looking at the dashboard clock.

"Hmm" she says, fidgeting in her seat. "I think we should find a motel and go and get a drink".

I look at her in the rear view mirror. Her eyes still sparkly and she's smiling that smile that she knows I can never say no to.

"Okay" I say, surrendering immediately. "My butt is starting to go numb anyway".

I take a right off of Route 70 into Oakley and I find a motel almost straight away.

"Oooh, this one" she says excitedly. And I'm smiling, again, as I pull into the parking lot.

Turning off the ignition and getting out of the car I'm thankful we stopped, my butt really is starting to go numb!

She climbs out of the back and pulls her ancient yellow duffel bag, that's still covered in sequins and butterflies, out of the back.

"Still pulling credit card scams"? She asks looking sideways at me, raising an eyebrow.

I smile and wink at her; she rolls her eyes in disapproval.

"How about you let me get this one"? She offers. "I won't be able to sleep if I know the room is paid for with scam money". She finishes shaking her head, pulling her sequined purse from her back pocket.

"Goodie-Too-Shoes" I whisper with a smile. She hits me in the arm.

"Ahhh"! I yell dramatically, throwing myself against the side of a parked Toyota pick-up.

She's smiling.

"Drama queen" she shoots back, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Hey, you're the one that went all Superman on my ass" I tease, throwing my arm round her shoulders and we try and compose ourselves as we reach the reception desk.

"Have you got a room available"? She asks the old man behind the desk, a polite smile playing on her lips. She taps her foot silently on the floor and I try and hide another smile. She never could keep still.

For the first time since I picked her up I actually look at her. Man she's grown up! Her hair is longer and redder than before, she, well, she's hot! Not that she wasn't before, I've always thought she was prettier than the average it's just, well; I hadn't really paid that much attention. Not that her being hot will change anything, I mean, she's still Sophie.

She catches me looking at her and a small blush rises in her cheeks.

"What, thought I'd still be a gangly 17 year old"? She asked laughing.

"Well, yeah" I said and before I could make a smart ass comment the old man returns with the room key.

"Thanks" she says, taking the key and handing the man her credit card.

"Common mister, we're in number 7" she says walking toward the other end of the parking lot.

"So, now that you've realised I'm a girl does that mean you're gonna be a gentleman and carry my bag"? She asks, smirking.

I roll my eyes, trying desperately to hide a smile and take her bag from her shoulder.

"Hmm, I could get used to this" she says smiling.

"Don't push your luck princess" I say, making her laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Next chapter. I wont post anymore until I get at least three reviews so if you like it, review. As always, please don't sue - I don't own anything!**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 3

Okay, so I thought this wouldn't be any different than before. Only, it's WAY different.

I mean, he has NO idea how I feel about him, he never knew, and I'm happy for it to stay that way. I mean, I decided a long time ago that Dean and me were just, not going to happen so this should not be that hard, so why is it?

He's in the shower..............

Stop thinking it Sophie! Just, stop it! I mean, he's practically your brother!

I slip on my black kitten heels and pull on my green sweater.

I'm ready. God, he takes longer than a girl to get ready!

"Hey Soph" I hear his muffled call.

"Yeah" I yell, pulling my hair to the right and tying it in a ponytail.

"Can you hand me a towel"? He yells over the noise of the shower.

You gotta be kidding me!

Grumbling, I walk over to the airing closet and grab the first towel on the shelf, nope, hand towel. I feel the blush rise instantly in my face as I think of Dean in the very small towel. Physically shaking that thought from my head I grab a normal sized towel and walk over to the bathroom.

I knock and he opens the door a little, steam pours out, making my eyes water.

I feel his hand, hot and wet, take the towel. I don't see it 'cos I am pretending to be interested in the ceiling tiles.

"Thanks". He says and closes the door again.

Okay Sophie, breathe. What has gotten into me! I used to be able to be around him 24 hours a day and keep hormones in check. I'm not even a teenager anymore! I thought it was supposed to get easier when you grew up?

I can hear him humming to himself.

I pull the faded, crumpled photo from my jeans pocket and smooth it out. I must've been 17 when this was taken but I remember it like it was yesterday.

Dean was making fun of me 'cos I kept slipping off of the hood of the Impala every time John tried to take the photo. He and Sammy had to stand either side of me so as I didn't fall off again. I wrapped my arms round them both and pulled them in close, smiling like a crazy person.

God, I looked so, lanky and geeky. No wonder I couldn't get a date for prom!

Smiling, I stuff the photo back in my pocket just as Dean walks out of the bathroom and I hold my breath.

Clothed. Thank God!

My heart returns to its normal pace.

"Jeez Dean, you take longer to get ready than a girl"! I tease, smiling.

"Hey, shush you" he says, pulling on his navy blue jacket. He sits down in the plastic garden chair by the front door and pulls on his scuffed up old boots, very slowly.

"Oh com'mon" I say, flopping backwards on my bed. I can hear him chuckle.

"Come on then woman" he orders and I clamber up off of the bed and grab my shiny black clutch from the nightstand. He's holding the door open for me.

"Ma'am" he says sarcastically.

"Thank you kind Sir" I say, handing him the room key. He locks it and stuffs the key into his jacket pocket.

"Maybe I should look after the key" I say, holding my hand out. He looks like he's going to refuse but makes a yeah-you're right face and hands me the key. I slip it into my clutch.

"Shall we"? He asks in a terrible English accent, holding out his arm. I can't help but smile.

"Lets" I reply in an equally terrible accent, looping my arm in his.

It's cold. I should've brought my jacket.

We walk a little way along what appears to be the main street in Oakley and I spot a bar on the left. Yay!

"Here"? I ask, pointing at the small, country bar. Dean looks hesitant.

"Oh com'mon, I bet it has sawdust on the floor and everything" I say, bouncing up and down on the spot a little. Dean rolls his gorgeous eyes and pulls me along in the direction of the bar.

We get there and I realise that maybe Dean was right; we probably should've given this one a wide berth. Two big, hairy guys are hanging out front and as we walk in they both look at me like they wanna................eeeew. Not gonna think about that.

Inside isn't so bad though, just like every other country bar in the country. Dean knocks my foot and gestures for me to look down. Sawdust. I feel the smile on my face, and look up at him, he's smiling too.

We make our way to the bar and sit on the only two stools left.

"What'll it be" he asks while shrugging off his jacket. The movement of the fabric send wafts of his amazing scent at me and my head feels fuzzy. He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Uh, Soph"? He asks, eyebrows raised.

"Uh, yeah, um, I'll have a Budweiser". I say, mentally kicking myself.

Stupid girl!

"Two buds please" Dean asks the guy behind the bar, who, also looks at me, grossly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I lied. I'm on a roll so here are 4 more chapters to keep you going. I don't own ANYTHING so please don't sue. **

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 4

I count the number of empty beer bottles on the bar. 12. Wow, we've drunk a lot; my face is starting to feel tingly...

"Ooooooohh" she says while waving her hands around, almost falling off of her chair and I can almost feel the grin on my face.

"A jukebox"! She squeals "why didn't I see that earlier"? She wonders and slips off of her barstool. Stumbling over to the ancient looking jukebox she fishes around in her pocket and smiles like a crazy person when she finds a quarter. She slots it into the jukebox and places a finger tip on her bottom lip as she attempts to focus on the music selection.

I'm still grinning. I can't stop even if I tried to, too many beers.

She wobbles backwards a little and then pushes a button a bit harder than necessary. Smiling, she stumbles back to her stool.

"I think we need another beeeeer" she slurs.

Hmmmm.

"I think you've probably had enough don't you"? I ask, looking into her unfocused, brown eyes.

"Nope" she says as she gestures to the guy behind the bar for two more beers.

I hear the electric notes of her song choice echo through the old bar.

No.

Please no.

She smiles, slowly and she starts moving around on her stool.

"Oh com'mon. Prince is a legend"! She says, closing her eyes and waving her arms in the air, singing along to the music.

"You gotta be kidding me" I say under my breath, looking at the floor. The barman places two more beers on the bar and he can't keep his greedy eyes off her.

"Hey"! I say, loudly to the guy and he looks over like he wants to kill me.

"Thanks" I say smiling and he walks to the other end of the bar.

She's still stool dancing and I look round the bar. Every single guy in this place is drooling after her and I instantly want to be anywhere else but here.

"Okay, time to get you to bed" I say, pulling her off of the stool and practically shoving her through the door.

I let the cold night air sober me up.

She's in the middle of the deserted road, dancing and walking. She's crazy.

A chuckle escapes without my permission.

"You gonna dance all the way back to the motel"? I ask, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Yep" she says breathlessly. She attempts a cartwheel, fails and lies out in the middle of the road. I shake my head, yep, definatley crazy.

"You know, you can't lie in the middle of the road" I say standing over her.

"Mmmhmm" is all I get out of her, she's closed her eyes. She's actually falling asleep in the middle of the road!

"Okay sweet cheeks" I say, grabbing her arm and throwing her over my shoulders, fireman style and wander up the road to the motel.

"You know, this kinda feels like flying" she says and she sticks her arms and legs out straight, pretending to fly.

"Someone has had more than her fair share of beer tonight" I patronize.

"Oh com'mon, I'm not that bad" she says, smacking my shoulder.

"Yeah, well just down blow chunks over me" I say threateningly as we near the front door.

I set her down next to the door and she struggles with the zip on her purse.

"Ooooh" she sighs, she can't get it open.

"Yeah, zips can be hard" I say as she throws her purse at me, smiling.

I unlock the door and drag her inside, dropping her on her bed.

"Mmmm, bed" she says and kicks off her shoes.

Probably a good idea to get some water down her so I go to the kitchen and look in the cupboards for a glass.

Shrugging off my jacket and throwing it on the counter I fill the glass with cold water and walk back into the bedroom, setting the glass of water on the nightstand.

I head into the bathroom, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

I remember the look on her face when she saw me standing at the bottom of the stairs and I can feel the stupid grin on my face and my heart beats a little faster – must be the beer.

Still smiling I wash my face with freezing cold water and head to bed.

I sit down heavily on the bed, sighing.

The moon highlights her face, she's sleeping.

8 years! It's a long time but she's still my Sophie and grinning like an idiot, I undress and climb into bed.

She's gonna be so hung over in the morning and I chuckle to myself and close my eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Fifth chapter you lucky people lol! Hope you're all liking it so far but I ALWAYS appreciate review so keep them coming. I don't own anything, so no suing please.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 5

Ow.

"Morning sunshine" he sings and I cover my eyes from the horribly bright sunlight that is streaming from the window.

I make an indistinguishable noise and curl back under the covers only to have them ripped off a second later.

"Dean"! I yell at him.

He jumps onto the bed making me feel sea sick.

"How are we feeling today"? He asks cheerfully He's enjoying my suffering, even if it was self inflicted.

"Like my head has been run over by a bus" I mumble into the pillow and I can hear him chuckle.

I slowly open my eyes and sit up cross legged on the bed. He waves a hot, steaming black coffee underneath my nose.

"Mmmmm, thank you" I say grasping at the Styrofoam.

"I'm gonna go pack up the car and check out. Be ready to go in 10 minutes" he ordered.

I salute, weakly as he walks out the door with both of our bags.

If he has my bag, what am I gonna wear!?

I look around on the chair are my jeans and pink sweater.

I telepathically thank him and rest the coffee on the nightstand. If I'm quick, I can grab a shower and still be in time to go.

I let the luke warm water wash over me, soothing my hung over head and body.

I wash my hair and brush my teeth double speed and I'm just slipping on my sneakers when Dean walks back in.

"You good to go sugar"? He asks, leaning against the doorframe looking devastatingly handsome and I almost have to catch my breath.

"Uh huh" I say and grab the coffee and follow him to the car, shielding my eyes from the sun.

"Wanna ride shotgun today"? He asks, unlocking the car.

I'm smiling.

"Sure" I say, climbing into the passenger seat of the Impala. Dean turns the key in the ignition and it roars to life. He pulls out of the parking lot, slowly and I smile my thanks at him as we start the rest of our journey to Stanford.

I sip my sweet coffee and pull the sun visor down. It's far too bright for my hung over senses.

Dean chuckles and leans over, opening the glove box and drops his sun glasses in my lap

"My hero" I say, pulling them on and running my hands through my damp hair. I sip more of my coffee, loving the way I can almost feel the sugar pulsing through my veins.

We rid in silence for much of the morning, either too tired or hung over to talk. After all, we did a lot of talking last night, or at least, I did.

Dean signals and turns off into a gas station.

He gets out and starts to fill up the car. I get out too; I need to stretch my legs. Stretching up tall I can feel my muscles tense and stretch, feels good.

"You want anything"? Dean asks putting the gas pump back.

I shake my head. "No thanks"

I watch him as he walks into the shack to pay for the gas. I stretch again and jump up on the hood of the Impala, pulling my knees up under my chi and breathe in the cold morning air – good hangover cure.

The wind blows my hair around my face and I push it back behind my ears and I suddenly feel a rush of excitement. We should be in Stanford by about midnight which means I only have 17 hours until I get to see Sammy. I feel a huge smile spread across my face and Dean looks at me funny as he leans against the hood of the car.

"Are you nervous about seeing Sammy again"? I ask him quietly, looking up at him through my eyelashes. He seems nervous.

"No, it's Sammy" he says brushing it off.

"You"? He asks looking at me.

"Excited, I can't wait to see him. I bet he's a giant now"! I say, remembering how shockingly tall he was, when we were kids.

"Yeah" he laughs. He hits my arm playfully, nodding his head for me to get back into the car.

I slide off of the hood and climb back into the car.

Again, the Impala roars into action and Dean wheel spins out of the gas station.

I turn the radio up a little and twist round so I can rest against the side door, stretching my legs out, resting my feet in Dean's lap. He looks over at me with a your-kidding-me expression. I pull his sunglasses down my nose a little and look up at him. He smiles that amazing lopsided smile that makes my heart do summersaults and sighs, surrendering.

I hum along to the songs on the radio and draw our route on the map, only taking the wrong turn once which I think is pretty good going, seeing as I don't really know how to read maps.

"This must be it" I say with a huge smile as we pull up noisily in front of a big white house on a tree lined street in Stanford, California.

Dean stops the car and looks up at the house apprehensively.

"It's big" I say quietly

"Com'mon" he says climbing out of the Impala, I follow.

I tuck my hair behind my ears and stuff my cold hands into my pockets and we walk side by side up the porch steps.

Dean starts working the lock and I roll my eyes.

"You know, he is your brother, we could just knock" I whisper, leaning against the wooden siding.

He looks up at me, smiling that irresistible smile and I get butterflies in my stomach.

"Yeah, but it's more fun this way" he says and on cue the door unlocks.

"Who's the man" he asks, looking all smug.

"Yeah, yeah you're very clever" I say, opening the door and I walk straight into the pitch black house.

My eyes haven't adjusted to the lack of light and I wave my hands around trying to find a light switch and I hit something hard and I hear a smash.

"Ooooops" I say and I can hear Dean sigh loudly.

"What"! I say "It's dark"

I stand still; I don't want to knock over anything else.

The floorboards creak as Dean walks around the room and he yells and I can just about see him fighting with someone.

"Whoa, easy tiger" he says and I finally find the light switch, flicking it on.

"Dean"?

OH MY GOD!!! SAMMY!!!

"You scared the crap outta me"! Sammy says breathing heavily.

I can barely control my excitement! AAAHHHH!!!

"That's 'cos you're outta practice" Dean says but then hmmphs loudly. I guess Sammy got the better of him.

"Okay boys, that's enough" I say, smiling like an idiot. Sammy's head snaps up and looks straight up at me, recognition hits and he smiles a wide, perfect smile at me.

"Sophie"? He says practically running over to me "Is that really you"?

He holds me a giant bear hug, lifting me up off of the ground and I squeal with excitement.

SAMMY!

"Okay, okay. Don't wake the neighbours" Dean mutters, getting up off of the floor, dusting himself off.

Sammy set's me back on the floor and holds me at arm's length.

"God, look at you, you grew up" he says looking me over. My cheeks feel like they're on fire as I notice Sammy is entirely sans shirt and well, buff!

"Back at ya" I say trying to hide how hideously embarrassed I am. He just keeps smiling and looking at me.

"What are guys doing here"? He asks pulling me into another hug and I'm squished up against his very naked chest and I can feel my whole body blushing.

"Well I was looking for a beer" Dean says, slapping Sammy and me on our shoulders, grinning.

Sammy's mood changes instantly as he looks at Dean.

"What the hell are you doing here"? He asks a bit more forcefully and I can feel the tension growing but at least my blush is receding.

"Okay, all right, we gotta talk" Dean says stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"Uh, the phone" Sammy says sarcastically and I try and hide a giggle without success and Sammy looks at me sideways and smiles.

"If I'd have called, would you've picked up"? Dean asks accusingly.

"Sam"? A girl asks from the bottom of the stairs.

I notice Dean look her over and I feel like scratching her eyes out!

"Jess, hey. Dean, this is my girlfriend Jessica" he introduces and she shuffles uncomfortably on the stairs.

Well, okay, maybe not scratch her eyes out.

"Wait, your brother Dean"? She asks.

Ha! She's stupid! Yes!

"I love the smurfs" Dean says and throws her one of those smiles "You know I gotta tell you, your completely outta my brother's league" he says. He can't keep his eyes off of her.

She looks over at me with an expressionless face, Sam notices.

"Oh yeah, this is Sophie" he says and I wave pathetically at her and then quickly stuff my hands in my pockets.

"Just let me put something on" she says and starts to make her way back up the stairs.

"No, no, no I wouldn't dream of it...seriously" he says

A disgusted sigh escapes me and Sammy looks over at me smiling smugly and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Anyway, we gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business but, uh, nice meeting you" he says, grabbing Sammy but he pulls back

God, I hate this tension.

"No. No, whatever you wanna say you can say in front of her" Sammy says, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Sam" I whisper, reaching out to touch his elbow. He looks down at me and sighs.

"Okay" he sighs and turns to Jess who I notice is glaring daggers at me!

"Jess, excuse us, we gotta go outside" he says and I follow Dean and Sammy out the front door.

Oooh, porch swing! I sit on the bench and push off, swinging.

Sammy smiles at me "cute" he says and I smile back at him.

"Dad's on a hunting trip and hasn't been home in a few days" Dean says trying to hide his concern but I can hear it in his voice. Sammy rolls his eyes at him and collapses on the bench next to me stretching his long legs out in front of him and rubs his face. He was probably asleep. He leans back and pulls me into his side and I curl up next to him, resting my head on his, still, naked chest.

"I mean com'on; you can't just break in, in the middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you" he says and I can't help but feel bad for Sammy. He always did feel torn up about this kinda work. He wanted a normal life, college but he felt he was turning his back on his family if he left. I guess the wanted for normality won out in the end.

Dean steps closer and I can tell he's getting pissed.

"You're not hearing me Sammy. Dad's missing; I need you to help me find him". That's as close to begging I have ever heard Dean come to.

A cold breeze whips at my hair and Sammy tucks it back behind my ear and sighs.

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst, or the devil's gates in Clifton? He was missing then too, he's always missing and he's always fine" he pleads, he's clutching at straws, and I already know he's coming with us but Dean keeps pushing it.

"Not for this long. Now you gonna come with us or not"? He says, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

"Us"? Sammy asks with raised eyebrows and looks down at me. I smile back up at him, guiltily.

"Oh com'on Sammy" I say, hitting him playfully in the arm "you know I'm the best shot out of the three of us" and this makes him smile and he pulls me in tighter.

"So when dad left, why didn't you go with him"? Sammy asks Dean accusingly, rubbing his eyes again.

"I was working my own gig. This voodoo thing down in New Orleans" Dean says cuffing the collar of his jacket against the night air.

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself"? Sammy asks and I hit him in the arm and he throws me a what-did-I-say look and I roll my eyes.

"I'm 26, dude". Dean says.

"You know in almost two years I've never bothered you. Never asked you for a thing" Dean starts bit Sammy interrupts.

"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here" Sammy says, getting up and I instantly miss him. He was like my own personal radiator.

"What's happening in Monday"? I ask, twirling a loose thread on my jumper round my index finger.

"I have this…I have an interview" He says and I can sense he's a little embarrassed.

"What, a job interview? Skip it" Dean says.

"Dean"! I scold, getting up and thwacking him on the arm

"What"! He asks indignantly.

"It's a law-school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate" Sammy says and I squeal and hug him.

"Wow, law-school. Scary stuff" I say breathing in "think I'll stick to the monsters"

"Law school"? Dean asks, not really needing an answer.

"So we got a deal or not"? Sammy asks looking over at his older brother.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I really am serious this time. I NEED some reviews before I publish any more chapters so if you want to keep reading, tell me about it! As always, I don't own anything so please don't sue me, I'm broke so you wouldn't get anything anyway! **

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 6

I can't believe I'm here, again.

I promised myself the last time was just that, the last time and then he goes and shows up! And of course, he makes sure to bring Sophie along as bait.

Though, I have to admit, it is nice to be sat in the passenger seat of the old Impala again, listening to Sophie humming along to the radio.

"So dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago this guy, they found his car but he'd vanished, completely M.I.A" Dean says and Sophie passes me a newspaper clipping and rests her head against my shoulder.

It's definitely nice to have her around again. She always did have a calming effect on Dean which in turn makes this whole experience a bit more bearable.

"So maybe he was kidnapped" I say handing the clipping back to Sophie and I can hear her quick intake of breath. She's worried about Dad too.

"Yeah well, there's another one in April another one in December '04, '03, '98, '92. Ten of them over the past 20 years, all men, all same 5-mile stretch of road. Started happening more and more so dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough" he says and Sophie hands me a crumpled paper folder filled with more clippings and notes and stolen photographs.

"Then I get this voicemail yesterday" he says flipping his cell phone into my lap.

"I don't want to listen to it again" Sophie says sadly and flops back further into the back seat.

I flip open the cell and listen to the message.

"Dean, something is starting to happen, I think it's serious. I need to try to figure out what's going on" I can barely hear through the static "Be very careful Dean, we're all in danger".

Closing Dean's cell I place it on the dash and a heavy sigh escapes me and I can feel Sophie's arms slip round my neck, trying to comfort me.

"You know there's EVP on that"? I say pointing to the cell and Dean turns and smiles smugly.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kind of like riding a bike isn't it? All right. I slowed the message down, and ran it through a Gold Wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got" he says throwing me a Dictaphone. I press play.

"I can never go home".

I feel my face screw up in concentration.

"Never go home"

An uncomfortable silence fills the car.

"Can we pull into a motel now Dean, we've been driving for ages and I'm tired" Sophie whines making Dean chuckle.

"God, I forgot how whiney she gets when she's tired" he says to me and I smirk. She hits him on the arm.

"Okay, okay" he says and we pull into the next motel.

Dean parks the car and I lift the seat up so Sophie can get out. She slips out of the car and smiles up at me.

Yeah, it's nice having Sophie around.

I slam the door which earns me a glare from Dean and I take Sophie's an my bags from the trunk and throw my arm over her shoulder, pulling her in the direction of the reception, followed by Dean who seems to be in a mood - nothing unusual there then.

Sophie skips up to the reception desk and asks for a room and takes her purse from her pocket and I look at Dean in disbelief.

"You gonna let her pay"! I ask but Dean just rolls her eyes.

"She always was a goodie-too-shoe" he says and Sophie skips back to us.

"Number 7 again" she says smiling at Dean and my heart skips a beat.

"Again" I ask, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, we stopped off on the way over here" she says and loops one arm in mine and one in Dean's.

"You know, to a passerby you seem like a very lucky girl" Dean says wiggling his eyebrows at her and I don't even try and stop my eyes from rolling at him.

"Shut up" she says, blushing a little.

Dean unlocks the door to the room and flicks the light in. I follow Sophie in and all three of us stand there, just looking.

One bed.

"Looks like I am getting lucky tonight" Sophie says and I can't stop the nervous laugh that escapes.

"Hell yeah" Dean says enthusiastically. She tuts him and does a running jump onto the bed, jumping once and then flopping back, lying stretched out on the bed.

Dean locks the door and grabs his bag, heading into the bathroom.

Sophie gets up and grabs her bag from the door and starts to undress and I can feel my eyes widen in shock!

"Uh, excuse me" I say and practically run into the bathroom.

"Dude" Dean yells at me with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Dude, have you seen Sophie" I ask, emphasising the seen. A wide smile form on his face.

"I know" he says, still smiling and continues to brush his teeth.

"Okaaaay" I say.

"Don't be such a prude" he whispers and he pushes me out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I look up slowly. She's already in bed. Good.

I sit on the end of the bed and pull off my sneakers and Sophie starts snoring loudly but she can't contain a laugh and I shove her, chuckling.

I keep my t-shirt on and pull on some sweat pants and climb in next to her, being careful not to flap the covers.

God, it has been a really long time since I last shared a bed with Sophie.

Dean walks in and crawls over both of us.

"Dean"! I complain and he flaps the covers.

"No"! She yells pulling the covers tight around her face "You're letting the air in"!

Dean just chuckles and flicks the light switch off, plunging the room into darkness.

Silence.

Awkward silence. No one's moving. This is weird.

"Night John Boy" Dean says and Sophie laughs and rolls over onto her front, facing me.

"Night boys" she says sleepily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Have another chapter because I love you all! ILuvOdie - your review made me laugh!**

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Chapter 7

Dean waves some breakfast bars and juice at Sammy who is flipping through Dean's box of cassette tapes.

"Hey, you want breakfast"? He asks him.

Sam doesn't look up but keeps rummaging through the tapes.

"No thanks. So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and dad still running credit card scams"? Sam asks, smirking.

Dean looks over at me and I can tell he knows that I disapprove of the scams.

"Yeah well…hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career. Besides, all we do is apply, it's not our fault they send us the cards" Dean says defensively and hands me a juice box and a granola bar through the window.

"Thanks" I say, taking them and lean back against the back seat.

"Yeah and what names did you write on the application this time"? Sam asks.

"Oh, I think it's the best one yet" I say sarcastically which earns me a shut-up look from Dean as he climbs back into the driver's seat.

"Uh…Bert Aframian and his son, Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal" he says, smiling triumphantly.

"Sounds about right. I swear man; you gotta update your cassette-tape collection" Sam says, still looking at the tapes.

"Why"? Dean asks, genuinely curious and I can feel a smile start forming on my face.

"Well for one they're cassette tapes, and two"....he says and pulls out a few.

"Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock" he says dropping the tapes back in the box. Dean grabs the closest tape and shoves it in the player.

"House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole" Dean says, drumming his hands on the steering wheel.

I lean forward, peering in between them.

"You know, I have a tape we can listen to" I say hopefully.

"No"! They yell in unison and I flop back into the back seat, pouting. Dean looks at me in the rear view mirror and winks and I try and hide a smile while keeping my heart beat at a normal pace.

"You know Sammy is a chubby 12 year old. It's Sam, okay"? Sam complains and I can't resist. I lean forward and wrap my arms round him.

"You'll always be my Sammy" I say, kissing his cheek.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you. The music's too loud" Dean says, goofing around as he speeds out of the gas station, leaving a cloud of dust behind us.

"Oooh, 7 miles" I say as we pass a road sign.

Sam pulls his cell from his jeans and dials.

This music is starting to make me crazy.

"Dean, can we listen to the radio now"? I ask, looking up into the rear view mirror.

"Nope".

Great, I think I can feel a headache starting.

"All right, so there's no one matching dad at the hospital or morgue, so that's something, I guess" Sammy says pocketing his cell.

"That's good news" I say, chewing on the straw from my juice box.

"Check it out" Dean says as we approach a bridge, there are two police cars parked up next to it.

Dean slows down and pulls over. He pulls out a box filled with fake IDs and grabs two. Two!

"Let's go" he says.

"What about me"! I ask.

"You stay put" Dean says, locking the car behind them and they walk over to the accident.

"Sucks" I say as I throw myself against the back seat.

They always did get to have all the fun while I had to stay back. Though I console myself with the thought that I am the best shot out of our freaky threesome.

I lean forward and pop the tape out of the player and put it back in the box and then hide the box under the passenger seat, smirking. No more headache music.

They're heading back. God Sammy really did get tall.

I feel useless; I haven't contributed to this little outing one bit since we left, well, unless comic relief counts, which it doesn't.

Dean unlocks the car.

"You know I would've stayed. You didn't need to lock the car" I grumble at him.

"Yeah, yeah" he mumbles and unfolds the map stashed in the glove box.

"So" I ask impatiently.

"So, nothing really. They have no idea what's happening" Sammy says leaning back over the passenger seat.

"We're gonna head into town to see if we can find the guy's girlfriend. Maybe she can give us more details" he says and looks ahead as Dean starts the car, heading into the small town.

"Hey" he says when the radio comes on instead of Motorhead.

"Sophie" he says accusingly, looking back at me in the rear view mirror. I try and look innocent.

God he's sexy when he's angry, even when he's pretending to be.

My chest aches a little but I ignore it, I'm good at that. I'm the queen of ignoring what my heart wants!

It's starting to rain, perfect.

Dean pulls up outside a diner and we all get out. I stuff my hands into my coat pockets and a shiver runs up my spine which has nothing to do with Dean looking particularly good today.......no, nothing at all.

Just up ahead I see a girl hanging up posters under a theatre marquee.

"I'll bet you that's her" I say and we start walking in her direction.

Dean speaks first.

"You must be Amy". It's not a question.

"Yeah"? The girl looks at us suspiciously.

"Troy told us 'bout you, we're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy and Sophie, his, uh, cousin" Dean says, lying effortlessly.

I think lying well must be a Winchester trait. I'm a terrible liar; I suppose that's why I spent most of the time in the car.

"He never mentioned you to me" Amy says, confused.

That's it, cover blown.

"Well that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much; we're up in Modesto. So we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around "Dean says, saving us with another perfect lie.

A girl walks up to Amy and places a gloved hand on her shoulder, concern written across her face.

"Hey, are you okay"? She asks.

"Yeah" Amy says with a small smile.

"Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions"? Sammy asks gently, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes. She won't refuse; no one can refuse those eyes.

"Sure" Amy says staple gunning one last poster.

We walk back to the diner and sit at a booth next to the window. I try and pay attention to the question and answer round but I just can't drown out the sound of the rain against the window.

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and he never did" Amy said, choking on her words, trying to hold back the tears and my heart breaks a little for her.

"He didn't say anything strange or out of the ordinary"? Sammy asks casually.

Probably a good idea I've keep my mouth shut, I would've given us away as soon as I opened my mouth.

"No, nothing I can remember" she says, tucking her hair behind her ear and I can see a pentagram necklace beneath her shirt.

"I like your necklace" I say, hoping I can pull his off.

Amy pulls it out of her shirt.

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents with all that devil stuff" she says softly.

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is a protection against evil, really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing" I say nervously.

Shut up now Sophie!

"Okay, thank you "Unsolved Mysteries". Here's the deal ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything…" he asks, throwing me a shut-the-hell-up glare.

Amy and her friend look at each other knowingly.

"What is it"? Dean asks, pressing for more information.

"Well, it's just…with all these guys going missing, people talk" the friend says cryptically. How irritating, people should just say what they mean!

"What do they talk about"? Dean and Sammy ask at the same time making me smile a little. They are more alike than either would like to admit.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial like…decades ago. Well supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up. Well, they disappear forever" Amy's friend explains.

Spooky.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I got my reviews and thank you all sooooo much, a special thanks goes out to eminemchick15. You really helped with sending me those stories and I do intend to reply to your email once I have finished reading them! I don't own anything so please don't sue.**

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Chapter 8

So, The Jericho Herald website doesn't seem to be much good.

Let's keep it simple.

I type in "Female Murder Hitchhiking" in the search bar.

No results found. Oookay.

"Female Murder Centennial Highway"

No results found.

"Hey, I got something" Sophie whispers from behind her computer. Me and Sammy walk over and lean over her computer.

I can smell her shampoo, coconut. It's irritatingly nice.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right"? She asks, placing her pencil between her lips.

Since when did Sophie start wearing lipstick?!

"Yeah" I reply, trying to concentrate.

"Maybe it's not murder" she says, scrolling down the page. She takes the pencil from her mouth and points at the screen but I'm not looking at the screen. I can't take my eyes off of her lips! What the hell is wrong with me!

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, 24 years old; Jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river" she says and turns to look at me.

"Uh, does it say why she did it"? I ask, turning back to look at the screen

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Her two kids are in the bathtub, she leaves them alone for a minute, she comes back, and they aren't breathing. Both die" Sam summarises.

"Hmm" I mumble. I may as well pretend I'm thinking it through; I can't focus when my head is filled with the smell of coconut.

"Our babies were gone and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband, Joseph Welch" Sam recites.

"That's so sad" Sophie says, tucking the pencil behind her ear. She scrolls further down the page and I look down at her.

BIG MISTAKE!

I look up instantly. I DO NOT want to be caught looking down Sophie's shirt.

Something on the screen catches my eye, thankfully.

"That bridge look familiar to you"? I ask both of them.

Sophie turns her rolling chair around making both me and Sammy stand up.

"I reckon we should find a room somewhere, grab some dinner and head out to the bridge later tonight" she says, excitement making her eyes sparkle.

"Calm down Nancy Drew" I tease "Okay, we'll find a room and grab something to eat, but no drinks for you missy" I say, pointing an accusing finger in her direction.

She rolls her eyes and turns back to switch off her computer and I look over at Sam, who is staring at Sophie. I've seen that look before and I can feel something bubble up in my chest but I can't pinpoint it.

"Dude" I say hitting him in the arm, making him jump.

"Hmm, oh yeah. Good plan" he says, standing up straight, looking at the floor.

"Of course it's a good plan" Sophie says, shrugging on her coat "I came up with it".

She smiles widely and I throw my arm round her shoulders and my senses are drowned in her coconut-y smell. I pull her in the direction of the exit, never did care much for libraries.

Sam follows us in a daydream. We walk outside and it's raining, hard. Great.

"Nice" Sam says, rejoining the world of the living.

"A bit of rain never killed anyone" Sophie says, stepping out into the rain, cringing as the cold rain starts to drench her, walking toward the car. Me and Sam jog to catch up with her and I unlock the car as quick as I can. We all climb in and the car instantly starts to get steamy so I unwind my window trying to stop some of the condensation.

Starting the car, we drive slowly down Jericho's main street, all of us looking out for a hotel. Sophie leans forward and points out of my window.

"Found one, I win" she sings and I'm smiling as I pull into the small parking lot.

We're all dripping wet as we stand in the hotel lobby and I'm trying very, very hard not to look at Sophie's wet, white shirt. Sam is too, he seems to be very interested in the ceiling tiles all of a sudden.

An old woman appears behind the desk, finally.

"Can I have a family room please"? I ask.

Probably a good idea if we don't all share a bed.

"Sure thing honey" she says and hands over the checking in book and she walks off to get the room key. Sophie comes to stand beside me bringing her irritating smell with her, I sign us all in.

"James Bond, Austin Powers and Ursula Andress" she reads and looks up at me in disbelief. "Seriously"?

"What"? I ask "They don't care as long as they get a credit card" I say, fishing out one of the many credit cards I have stashed in my wallet. Sophie just rolls her eyes and leans against the desk.

The woman returns with the room key and I hand over the credit card.

"Number 14, straight up the stairs, first right and it's on your left hand side" she says, smiling.

"Thanks" I say, and Sam wraps his arm round Sophie's shoulders and I can feel my fists balling – strange!

The room is small, with only one window and 3 tiny beds.

"Well, at least it's not the car" Sophie says as she dumps her bag on one of the beds.

"The car would've been bigger" Sam says, smiling at her and I roll my eyes involuntarily.

"Okay, I'm gonna have a shower before we head out" Sophie says and tips out the contents of her bag onto the bed, grabs a handful of clothes and her pink, frilly shower bag and walks into the bathroom. Sammy watches her go and I narrow my eyes at him.

"What" he says, holding his hands up.

"You know what" I say accusingly.

"Whatever dude" Sam says dismissively and boots up his laptop. I can hear the shower start and I grab the case folder from the bed and sit on the floor resting against one of the beds, trying not to think too hard about the questionable stains on the carpet.

Sophie starts singing.

"It's nice having her back again isn't it" I say, still flicking through the file.

"Yeah, I hadn't realised how much I missed having her around" Sam says, his head hidden behind his laptop.

We sit in silence for a long while, just listening to Sophie's terrible singing.

My stomach growls loudly and I realise I've only had that Granola bar this morning.

"Dude" Sam says, looking up from behind his computer.

"What, I'm hungry" I say dropping the folder to the floor and I throw one of Sam's sneakers at the bathroom door.

"Com'on Soph, we're dying of starvation out here"! I yell and on cue Sophie opens the bathroom door which releases a steamy, coconut-flowery smell and my brain stops working.


	9. Chapter 9

**And another one.......... (no ownership=no lawsuit, pleas don't sue)**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 9

We pulled up just before the bridge, climbing out of the car I flick on my flashlight.

"Ooooooh"

Sophie was holding her flashlight under her face, making a stupid ghost noise but it still made me smile. She always did know how to do that.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive" Dean said leaning over the side of the bridge looking at the black water below.

Sophie hauls herself up and sits on the edge of the bridge, swinging her legs back and forth, cute. I quickly shake that thought from my head.

"So you think dad would have been here"? I ask walking up the bridge a little.

"Well he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him" Dean says, turning back to look at me and I try and hide my irritation but it looks like Sophie's already picked up on the mood change and is looking at me warily.

"Okay so now what"? I ask heavily.

"Now we keep digging till we find him. It might take a while" he says, turning back to the bridge.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by..."

"Monday. Right, the interview" Dean interrupts, looking back at me and out of the corner of my eye I can see Sophie jump off of the bridge, pushing her long red hair behind her ears.

"Yeah" I say defensively. If he thinks I'm following him on this wild goose chase he's got another thing coming. I finally have a normal life!

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this aren't you? You think you're just gonna become some lawyer? Marry your girl"? Dean asks shining his flashlight in my eyes making me wince.

"Dean" Sophie cautions but I don't think Dean registered it, he never does.

"Maybe. Why not"? I say, trying to keep my voice as calm as I can.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done"? Dean asks accusingly, he knows the answer. Jerk.

"No and she's not ever going to know". I spit back at him.

"Well that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're gonna have to face up to who you really are" he says, starting to walk further down the bridge.

"Yea, and who is that"? I yell after him, following him up the bridge. I know this is just gonna end up in a fight but I don't care.

"One of us" Dean yells back over his shoulder.

"No, I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life" I promise. Hell no, I am not being dragged back into this!

"Well you've got a responsibility" Dean says matter of factly and I can barely control the anger bubbling up inside me.

"Hey, maybe we should just....." I hear Sophie say from behind me and I feel a little guilty. She never did like it when we fought but this is has been an argument 2 years in the making and I'd be damned if I backed down now!

"To dad and his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what mom looks like. What difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, mom's gone, and she isn't coming back" I yell at him, it felt good saying it out loud. That is until Dean grabs me by the shirt and shoves me up against the rail.

"DEAN"! Sophie yells and runs over to us.

"Don't talk about her like that" Dean yells and Sophie manages to push her small frame between us and pushes Dean back.

"Enough" she warns glaring at both of us but then her eyes look past me and get real wide. I look over.

Crap.

And there she is, all white and ghostly standing on the edge of the bridge and then she just jumps off! We all run over to the spot where she stood and look over the rail.

No splash.

"Where'd she go"? Sophie asks, leaning further over the rail.

"I don't know" I say, looking round and then my heart almost stops as I hear the Impala start up.

"What the....."

"Who's driving your car"? I interrupt but Dean pulls the keys out of his pocket and the car starts racing towards us. Fast, Me, Dean and Sophie start running up the bridge.

The car is getting too close and I realise we're not gonna out run it.

"We gotta jump" I yell and all three of us hurl ourselves off of the side of the bridge, grabbing onto the rail I hear the engine cut out and the car rolls to a stop.

I haul myself up over the rail, seeing that Sophie's barely holding on. I run over to the other side and grab her arm.

"I got'ya" I say, hauling her up and over the rail and I hold her in my arms as she balances. She looks up at me with those coffee coloured eyes and smiles and I can feel my heart beat quicken. I let her go, quickly.

"Where's Dean"? She asks, pushing her hair behind her ears. I run over to the other side of the bridge and lean over the rail.

"Dean"! I yell. No answer. "Dean"!

"What"? He yells up angrily, climbing up the bank to the bridge.

"Are you all right"? Sophie asks, worry etched on her pretty face.

"I'm super" he spits at her and I just laugh at him. Serves him right, jerk.

Dean makes it up to the bridge and checks over the Impala.

"Car all right"? I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah whatever she did to it, it seems all right now. That Constance chick. What a bitch"! He says, straightening up.

"Well, it looks like she doesn't want us digging around" Sophie says from her spot on the hood of the car. She's pulled her knees up under her chin and wrapped her arms round her chest. She's cold. I walk over to sit next to her on the hood, wrapping my arm round her and she leans into my chest, resting her head on my shoulder. I'm trying very hard to not let her intoxicating coconut smell make my brain fuzzy. Dean comes and sits the other side of Sophie and my nose twitches.

"So where's the trail go from here, genius"? I ask sarcastically.

Sophie giggles next to me "You smell like a toilet" she says to Dean, covering her nose with the cuff of her jumper.

------ ------ ----- ---- ----

When we get back to the hotel something catches my eye on the checking in book.

Burt Aframain.

Dad!

"Hey Dean, check it out" I say, pointing to the signature.

"Room 12" Dean says to himself and we go and search out room 12.

"Here it is" Sophie says, pointing up at the room number nailed to the door and smiles triumphantly.

I jemmy the door open and me and Dean walk in and I look around. Where is she now! I reach out into the hall and grab her jumper, pulling her inside, closing the door behind her before anyone realises we're breaking and entering.

Looking around the room, there are newspaper clippings practically covering the walls, the bed is unmade and there's empty take-out cartons covering the floor

"Whoa" I sigh. Looks like Dad's had a bit of a crazy time of it.

Dean flicks the table lamp on and I watch, disgustedly, as Dean picks up a skanky, half eaten hamburger and sniffs it.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days, at least" he says, setting the mouldy food back on the nightstand.

"Salt, cats-eye shells. He was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in" Sophie says from across the room and I notice Dean smile proudly at her.

"Just like riding a bike" she says, smiling at him.

I look up at the wall and an article catches my eye.

"What d'ya got here"? Dean asks, walking over with Sophie following close behind.

"Centennial Highway victims. I don't get it. I mean different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common"? He ask, sighing. He's getting frustrated.

"John figured it out" Sophie says, smoothing out the article

"What do you mean"? Dean asks, looking at the article over her shoulder.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch, she's a woman in white" Sophie says, pointing at the article.

"You sly dogs" Dean says under his breath. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it". Dean says, looking back over at me.

"She might have another weakness" I say, my brain working on overdrive.

"No, dad would want to make sure, he'd dig her up" he says.

"Does it say where she's buried"? I ask Sophie

"No, not that I can tell" she says, turning to look at me "But if I were John, I'd go ask her husband. If he's still alive". She says, looking up at Dean.

"All right, why don't you see if you can find an address? I'm gonna get cleaned up" Dean says and starts to head out of the room but I collar him before he can get to the door.

"Hey Dean..." he looks back at me

"...What I said earlier, about mom and dad, I'm sorry" I say, swallowing my pride. It was kinda out of line and I open my mouth to apologise further but he waves his hands at me.

"No chick flick moments" he warns, smiling.

"All right" I say, smiling back "jerk".

"Bitch"

I laugh at him and he walks off towards our room. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Sophie smiling, widely and I roll my eyes.

"Shut up" I say teasingly and she walks over to the dresser.

"Hey, look at this" she says quietly. She holds out a crumpled photo of me, Dean and Dad. Must've been taken a long time ago, he looks happy. I notice another photo on the dresser, a school portrait of a lanky red head and I smile.

"Hey" I whisper, pointing at the photo and she smiles, she's trying to blink away the tears that are welling up in her eyes and I wrap my arm round her shoulders and kiss the top of her head, ignoring the knots forming in my stomach.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 and I'm on a roll..................**

**I don't own it so don't sue me.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 10

Finding that photo of me on the dresser in John's room has made me feel so guilty. He never stopped thinking of me, even though I stopped hunting with him and the boys. I wanted to stay, I really did, and I had kicked up merry hell when Mom and Dad told me I had to stop.

I know they just wanted a normal life for me, and to keep me safe and I love them for it and I guess that having a normal life was a good thing, I mean, I had friends, I went to school, prom, got a job and that was fine, when I was a teenager but I'm 23 now. Time to make my own decisions I think. Time to live my life how I want to live it.

Dean walks out of the bathroom smelling gorgeous, as usual and I try and breathe like a normal person but my heart is racing and I try not to stare.

"I'm starving. I'm gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You guys want anything"? He asks, grabbing his jacket from his bed.

"No" Sam says, not looking up from his laptop.

"Aframian's buying" He says looking over at me but I shake my head and he shrugs, walking out of the room.

I've changed my mind, coffee would be good.

"Hey Dean, wait up" I say, grabbing my jacket and running out the door after him.

"I'll grab you a coffee Sammy" I yell back to him and close the door.

"Hey" he says and throws an arm round my shoulders and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face or the flutter of my heart.

As we walk out into the parking lot I can see two cops talking to the old lady that checked us in. The lady looks up and points at us and we stop walking, my heart is racing, but for all the right reasons this time. Dean pulls his cell out of his pocket and waits for the dial tone impatiently. I don't need to ask to know who he's calling, as far as I'm aware, Dean only has 4 numbers on his phone. Sam, John, Bobby and Me.

The line clicks in and I can hear Sam's muffled voice on the other end.

"Dude, five-o take off" he says.

"Uh, they kind of spotted me. Go find Dad" he says, dropping his arm from around my shoulders.

"Yeah, she's here too" Dean says and hangs up the phone.

"Go find Sammy" he whispers and pushes me in the direction we just came from.

"No, I'm not leaving you" I say defiantly, stepping forward again.

"Soph, just go" he says giving me a do-as-you're-told-or-I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass look and points back to the hotel and I turn back to find Sammy.

"Problem officers"? I hear him say and I start running.

I find Sammy and tell him that the cops have probably taken Dean in for questioning.

"I'm sure Dean will be ok, let's just, go and talk to the husband and if he's still locked up by the time we get back, we'll think of a way to spring him okay"? He asks and I nod. Dean's a big boy, he can take care of himself and I try and focus on the job at hand and try not to picture Dean locked up in a cold cell.

The drive to the Welch house is silent apart from the radio.

"Hi uh, are you Joseph Welch"? Sam asks the man standing in the doorway.

"Yeah" he says. He seems a little confused; I suppose finding two strangers at your door would be a little confusing. We pull the reporter line and my heart flutters.

Please don't look at me, if he looks at me the game is up, I can feel the blood rising in my cheeks and I look at the floor realising that I don't look much like a reporter in my faded all stars and patched up denim jacket.

He buys it and we end up in Mr. Welch's yard and Sammy hands him a photo of John and asks him to confirm if he's been round here. Mr. Welch nods and I can feel a rush of optimism.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him. He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter" he said, sitting on a bench.

"That's right. We're working on a story together" Sammy lies, effortlessly and I try and act normal.

"Well I don't know what the hell kind of story you're working on. The questions he asked me....." he trails off, great, way to stay subtle John.

"About your late wife Constance"? Sam asks, putting on the puppy dog eyes and Mr. Welch nods.

"He asked me where she was buried" he chokes out.

"And where is that again"? Sam asks casually.

"What, I got to go through these twice"? Mr. Welch asks, looking up at me and I smile at him apologetically.

"Its fact checking". Sammy says, bringing Mr. Welch's attention back to himself.

"If you don't mind".

"In a plot behind my old place over on Breckenridge". Mr .Welch sighs heavily and I feel sympathy flood me. Poor guy.

"Why did you move"? Sam asked and I roll my eyes at him. Obvious, duh!

"I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died" he said heavily and I throw a don't-push-it face in Sammy's direction.

"Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again"? He asks, carefully.

"No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known" he said, looking up at me and I smile at him again, my heart breaking for the guy.

"So you had a happy marriage"? Sam asks his final question and Mr. Welch hesitates to answer.

Interesting.

"Definitely" he says and I raise an eyebrow in Sammy's direction but he gives me a knock-it-off look and I look back down at my sneakers.

"Well that should do it. Thanks for your time" Sammy says, shaking Mr. Welch's hand, as do I and he leads us to the side gate and we start to head back to the car.

"Mr. Welch, you ever hear of a woman in white"?

I hear myself saying it but I can't actually believe I've said it, it just, came out!

"A what"? He asks, looking confused.

"A woman in white, or sometimes a weeping woman. It's a ghost story. Well it's more of a phenomenon really. Um, they're spirits. They've been cited for hundreds of years. Dozens of places; in Hawaii and Mexico, Arizona and Indiana. They're different women, but they all share the same story" I'm babbling and Sammy is glaring daggers at me.

"Honey, I don't care much for nonsense" Mr. Welch says but that doesn't seem to shut me up!

"You see, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them and these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then once they realized what they'd done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed. Walking back roads, waterways, and if they find an unfaithful man they kill him, and that man is never seen again" I continue.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!

"You think....You think that has something to do with Constance"? Mr. Welch asks. He's getting angry and I know I'm gonna get a headache later from all the shouting Sammy's gonna throw at me.

"You tell me" I say, wishing I had never opened my stupid mouth!

"I mean maybe, maybe I made some mistakes, but no matter what I did, Constance would never would have killed her own children" he said, angrily and all I wanted to do was just climb into the car and drive away and pretend like the past 4 minutes hadn't happened. God, Dean's gonna kill me when he finds out!

"Now you get the hell out of here, and you don't come back" he yells, slamming the side gate and returning to his house.

I don't want to turn around, I can feel the heat from Sammy's glare on my back and if I turn around I'll be burned alive. But, I swivel in my sneakers and look up at him and....he's smiling.

Oookay.

"Good work Jones" he says and throws me they keys to the Impala and I look up at him, shocked.

"Our secret" he says and climbs into the passenger seat.

"Hell yes"! I yell, doing a little I-get-to-drive-the-impala dance and climb into the driver's seat and start the engine, savouring every second. God knows when I'm gonna be allowed to drive again!

I turn the radio up until it's so loud it's shaking the windows.

"Oh yeah" I say, looking over at Sam with a massive smile, he just laughs at me.

We drive along the main street for about 15 minutes and the novelty of driving the Impala has worn off and all I can think about is Dean being held in a police station and the worry finally bubbles over.

"Okay, can we please spring Dean now"? I plead, looking over at Sammy and he nods, pulling out his cell from his pocket. He only dials three numbers and I look over at him, shock obvious on my face.


	11. Chapter 11

**Are you bored yet? If you are, please don't think about suing me because I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 11

How much longer do I have to be stuck in here! It's already been like, a million hours! I look up at the cop sat across from me. I hate cops, they're always butting in making my job twice as hard than it has to be!

"I don't know how many times I gotta tell you. It's my high-school locker combo" I say, with an obnoxious smile making the guy sigh and hold his head in his hands. Good, if I have to suffer, I'll make damn well sure he does.

"Are we gonna do this all night long"? He asks, frustrated and the other cop that busted me pokes his head through the door.

"We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road" he says, gesturing for the guy to follow him out.

"Do you have to go to the bathroom"? He asks, not taking his head from his hands.

"No" I say, smiling victoriously.

Good boy Sammy.

"Good" he says and handcuffs one of my hands to the table. Damn.

Ooh, paperclip. Bingo.

Easily picking the lock on the cuffs I silently, well, quietly climb out of the window, with the journal, obviously. Stupid cops, why put a window in an interrogation room?

Okay, now to find Sammy and Soph.

Looking round I see a phone booth a couple blocks away and I start running for it, hoping the cops don't come back too soon.

Dropping a quarter into the slot I dial Sammy's cell number and keep my head down, just in case.

"Dean"

"Fake 911 phone call Sammy? I don't know, that's pretty illegal" I say, smiling proudly, glad he can't see me.

"You're welcome" he says and I roll my eyes.

"Did Soph find you"? I ask.

"Yeah she's here" he says and I feel the corners of my mouth tug up into a smile.

"Listen, we gotta talk" I say, feeling the journal burning a hole through my jacket pocket.

"Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful, we are dealing with a woman in white. She's buried behind her old house. So that should've been dad's next stop" he says quickly.

"Sammy would ya shut up for a second" I yell down the phone, jeez!

"I just can't figure out why he hasn't destroyed the corpse yet" Sammy keeps yammering on.

"Well that's what I'm trying t'tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho" I say into the phone a little louder than necessary. The line is silent for a moment

"What's wrong" I hear Sophie say in the background.

"What? How do you know"? Sam demands.

"I've got his journal" I say wishing he would just shut the hell up and pick me up already, I am way too close to the station.

"He doesn't go anywhere without that" he says in disbelief. I sigh, impatiently.

"Yeah, well he did this time" I say

"What's it say"? He asks

"Same old ex-marine crap when he wants to let us know where he's going" I say, running my free hand through my hair.

"Co-ordinates. Where to"? He asks. For a smart kid, Sammy can really be a dumbass sometimes. How the hell am I gonna know that without a map and how the hell am I gonna be able to look at a map if he doesn't come pick me the hell up!

I try and swallow my impatience.

"I'm not sure yet" I say

"I don't understand, I mean what could be so important that dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on"? He yells and I open my mouth to explain until I hear him yell and my heart stops.

"Whoa! Sophie"!

I can hear rustling and I guess he's dropped the phone.

"Sam"? No reply "Sam"!


	12. Chapter 12

**The phenultimate chapter people! Please don't sue me, I don't own a thing accept a massive crush and I think you can all guess for who......**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 12

I had forgotten about the adrenaline rush that came with this job and I can feel said adrenaline pumping through my veins as I look back at the ghost of Constance Welch in the rear view mirror.

"Take me home" she says

"Umm……" I start

"No" Sam says looking back into the backseat at a very pissed off Constance. Then my door is flung wide open and I'm thrown from the car, skidding across the hard concrete, scuffing up the skin on my left shoulder.

Damn, that hurts.

I look up when I hear the engine rev and the Impala takes off up the road, fast.

"Damn" I swear and pull my cell from my pocket, I dial Dean's cell number and he picks up instantly.

"Sophie, where the hell are you. Are you okay, where's Sam" he yells down the phone.

"Dean" I say, taking a big breath, holding my bloody shoulder and wincing. Suck it up Sophie, you've had worse.

"Constance, she was in the car, she threw me out"! I yell, getting to my feet. I can hear an intake of breath and I figure he's worried about Sammy.

"Sammy's still in the car, she's taken it. You need to get here" I say quickly.

"Where are you" he asks, calmly.

"I'm on, ummm......" I look around wildly for a street sign.

Bingo.

"Breckenridge Road" I say and as I say the street name, recognition hits.

"Dean, this is the road Constance and her family used to live on" I say.

"I'm on my way, stay where you are" he says and hangs up.

Great, so I just have to wait here while Sammy is probably being possessed or worse! The though makes me feel sick and I run my fingers through my hair.

--- --- --- ---

Its twenty minutes before Dean reaches me. Finally!

Running over to me he notices my shoulder.

"Jeez, Soph are you okay" has asks and I brush him off.

"I'm fine, we gotta find Sammy" I say and we start running in the direction the Impala went. Not too far down the road I notice the Impala parked up outside a white house.

"Dean" I say, pointing toward the car and that's when I hear Sammy scream.

My heart stops and for a horrible second I can't move, I can't think. Only for a second and then I'm following Dean over to the car, he grabs two shotguns and throws one over to me, I cock it and blast a round up at the house hopefully it will distract Constance enough to leave Sammy and come after me but Sammy starts the engine and plows the car into the side of the house.

My eyes fly open as my heart feels like it's jumping up into my mouth.

"Sam"! I yell and run into the house followed by Dean.

"Sam"! Dean yells, shotgun at the ready "Sam! You okay"?

"I think" I hear Sammy's voice from inside the car.

Thank God!

"Can you move"? Dean asks and I hold my breath.

"Yeah. Help me" he says as I see him start to climb out of the wreckage, I run over to his side and pull him out as best I can and lean him against the front of the car.

"Sammy"! I hear Dean yell and I turn just in time to see a heavy looking dresser fly towards me and Sammy so I do the only thing I can think of. I push Sammy out of the way and take the full force of the dresser which pins me against the hood of the car.

"Ahhhhhhhhh"! I scream out in pain. My legs feel like they're snapping in half but the pressure pushing against the dresser doesn't stop. I see the lights flicker above us and I look over to Constance. She's looking up at the stairs and two creepy ghost children are at the top of the stairs.

"You've come home to us mommy" I hear them say in creepy, echoey ghost voices and suddenly the kids are behind her and there's water on the floor. They take her arms and Constance screams and the sound is so piercing I have to cover my ears and I watch all three of them melt into the puddle.

I feel the dresser move back a little and I push it away, climbing on top of the hood and check over my legs. Nothing broken, thank God.

Dean and Sammy walk over to the puddle and look down at it.

"So this is where she drowned her kids" Dean asks

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them" Sammy said backing up from the puddle a little.

"You found her weak spot. Nice work Sammy" Dean says, punching Sammy in the arm playfully. I wince as a shooting pain flashes up my left leg and I grab it.

"Sophie, are you okay" Sammy asks and both boys climb over the debris to get to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I say as Sammy pulls me off of the hood of the car and I wince as he grabs my scabbed up shoulder and he pulls his hand back instantly.

"Jeez Soph" he says and I smile up at him reassuringly.

"I'm fine, really. A few sticking plasters and an Advil and I'm good to go" I say pushing my hair behind my ear.

"That's my girl" Dean says, smiling at me and my heart flutters, probably from left over adrenaline.

Yeah, right.

"What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak"? Sammy laughs at Dean helping me over the debris.

"Hey, saved your ass. I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you" Dean threatens, totally serious.

As Dean and Sammy check over the Impala I can't help but smile.

We did good.


	13. Chapter 13

**Drum roll please......................................final chapter. I'm gonna wait to see if you guys review to see if I'm gonna start on the second episode so if you want to see what happens in this twisted little love triangle then you'd better say so! : )**

**For the last time, please don't sue as I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 13

"Okay here's where dad went. It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado" I say, pointing to a spot on the map and I feel Sophie lean forward and rest her head on my shoulder.

"Hey, how's your shoulder" I ask, looking over at her. She just looks up at me through her thick eyelashes and smiles.

"Its fine, ya know, I'm tougher than I look" she says, I laugh and ruffle her hair.

"Place sounds charming. How far"? Dean asks, looking over at the map and I feel my stomach knot up.

"About 600 miles" Sophie says and rests her head back on my shoulder.

"If we shag ass we can make it by morning" Dean says. I knew it. I knew he'd do this. Sophie looks up at me and she opens her mouth to say something but I get in first, she shouldn't have to say anything.

"Dean, um…" I start awkwardly, feeling the air in the Impala become thick.

"You're not going" Dean says, not looking over at me, just staring straight at the road and I hear Sophie sigh heavily and flop into the back.

"The interview's in 10 hours, I gotta be there" I plead, hoping he's not gonna start a fight. I see his eyes flick up to the rear view mirror and he nods.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I'll take you home" he sighs, pushing his foot to the gas pedal, making the car leap forward.

Sophie leans forward again and starts climbing over the seat.

"Damn Soph" Dean complains "watch the upholstery"

She just waves him off and sits in between us. She looks up at me and her eyes are watery and my heart thuds in my chest, she reaches over and wraps her arms round me, squeezing tight.

"I'm gonna miss you Sammy" she says, burying her head in my jacket.

"I'm gonna puke" Dean says under his breath but neither me nor Sophie pay any attention. I wrap my arms round her and pull her close against me, loving the way she leans against my chest.

The rest of the drive is pretty quiet, I hear Sophie's breathing get deeper and more even and I figure she's fallen asleep.

"What ya gonna do about Soph" I ask Dean, tightening my hold on her a little. Dean looks over at her and I see a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"You like having her around" I say, it wasn't a question, it was obvious. Dean was happier when Sophie was around; he didn't get angry as quickly.

"Yeah, well. If I remember correctly Mr. and Mrs. Jones didn't exactly think we were a good influence on their daughter" he says through gritted teeth, he's gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles are turning white!

"Dude, she's what, 22, 23"? I say "Why don't you just ask her if she wants to stick around"? I finish, looking down at her and I have a sudden urge to brush her shiny red hair off of her face but I quickly suppress it and think that in about 2 hours I'll be home, with Jess.

--- --- --- ---

Sophie wakes up just as we pull up outside my house and I look up at it. Something's different, I don't think it's the house, I think, I'm different.

I turn to face Dean and Sophie.

"You'll call me if you find him"? I ask grabbing my bag from the backseat, Dean just nods.

"Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh"? I ask.

"Yeah, all right" Dean says stiffly. I look down at Sophie and she throws her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek. She pulls back and I can feel my face burning.

"You'll call me; tell me how the interview goes"? She asks her eyes all glassy but she won't cry. Sophie only cries if something is really bad.

"Of course I will stupid" I say, kissing the top of her head breathing in er coconut smell one last time. I get out and Sophie takes my place in the car and I feel like, like I'm betraying Dean somehow but I try and push it to the back of my mind. This is what I wanted, what I do want, a normal life.

Sophie breathes on the glass and draws a smiley face and waves at me, I smile and wave back and walk up to the house. I'll miss Sophie.

"Sam" I hear Dean call, I turn back and he's gotten out of the car, leaning against the roof.

"Y'know we made a hell of a team back there" he says.

"Yeah" I say, "Y'know, you could do with Sophie's help. She can keep you out of trouble at least" I say and he smiles, getting back in the car and pulls away.

--- --- ---

I unlock the front door and walk in. It's good to be home and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Jess"! You home"? I yell, walking into the kitchen and I find a plate of cookies, my favorite chocolate chip cookies and a note from Jess.

"Missed you! Love you!"

Smiling I grab a cookie and eat it so fast it hardly touches the sides and walk through to my room. The water's running, she must be in the shower.

Sitting on the end of the bed I lean back and close my eyes.

Relax Sam, you're home!

I feel something drop onto my forehead, and another drop. Swiping at it with my hand, I open my eyes.

No!

This cannot be happening! Jess is pinned to the ceiling

"No"! I scream just as she bursts into flames. My heart feels like it's been ripped from my chest, I can't move!

I hear the front door crash open.

"Sam"! I hear Dean yell.

"Jess"! I scream, looking up at the face of my burning girlfriend.

"Sam"! Dean yells again.

"No! No"! Jess screams and I can feel the tears streaming from my eyes as my heart breaks.

Sophie grabs me by the shirt and pulls me towards the door but I fight against her, I can't leave Jess!

"We gotta get outta here" Sophie yells at me but I don't care, I won't leave Jess.

"Jess! No"! I scream as I pull free from Sophie and run into the bedroom, only to be hauled back out by Dean.

We run out into the street but I can't feel my legs, arms, anything apart from the burning hole in my chest.

--- --- ---

Time lurches forward, slows then lurches again.

I can see fire trucks dowsing the flames but I don't know when they got here.

The hole in my chest burns painfully and I can feel the anger start to burn my blood. I'm gonna kill the thing that did this to Jess! I don't care how long it takes to find the damn thing, I'll search forever.

It's already living on borrowed time!

"Sam"! I hear Sophie call as I stalk to the Impala and wrench the trunk open and grab the first shotgun I can find and start filling it with shells.

Sophie stands next to me and places her hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off. I look over at her and her face is streamed with tears and ash dust. Dean walks over to stand the other side of me and I look at him.

He knows what I want, what I need to do and he nods, sighing. I throw the shotgun in the trunk and slam it shut.

"We got work to do"


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews. Her's the next episode. Please don't sue me, I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy**

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Chapter 14 – Wendigo

I can feel sleep taking me just as Sam jerks awake in the passenger seat, making me jump. I see Dean look up at me quickly in the rear view mirror but then looks over at Sammy.

"You okay"? He asks. Sammy runs his fingers through his hair and lets out a long breath.

"Yeah I'm fine" he says, unconvincingly. Leaning forward, I wrap my arms round his neck and rest my head on his.

"Was it another nightmare"? I ask quietly but Sammy just coughs, which means I should drop the subject.

"You wanna drive for a while"? Dean asks him cautiously.

So unfair! I never get to drive the car!

"How come Sammy gets to drive"? I ask, pouting a little. Dean looks over and smiles.

"'Cos he _can_ drive sweetheart" he says, putting emphasis on the "can".

"He drove through a wall"! I yell, straightening up. Sammy just laughs.

"In your whole life you never once asked me that" he says. Dean shrugs.

"Just thought you might want to, never mind" he says heavily.

"Look man, you're worried about me, I get it and thank you but I'm perfectly okay" he says but I'm not buying it.

"Mmhmm" I say but Sammy just throws me a drop-it look and I sink back into the backseat and I feel my stomach knots painfully. Sammy's been having violent nightmares ever since Jess. I don't know what I can do to help; I can't exactly dream surf and make sure his dreams are full of ponies and flowers. Not that he'd probably appreciate ponies and flowers.

A quiet sigh escapes me.

"You alright back there" Dean asks, looking at me in the rear view mirror. My heart beat quickens, I nod and he looks back at the road.

"All right.....where are we"? Sammy asks unfolding the massive, old road map.

"Just outside of Grand Junction" Dean says and I lean forward over Sammy's shoulder looking at the map.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon" Sammy says sadly and my heart breaks. I just wanna hug him but I know he probably wouldn't appreciate with Dean here. No chick flick moments allowed in the man car.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica....." Dean starts

"We gotta find dad first" Sammy says.

God I wish John was here, he'd know what to do, everything would be better if John was here, Dean sighs heavily.

"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers; he'll know what to do" Dean says staring at the road. He's not letting on how much he misses John but I know he does.

Sam shifts in his seat and starts folding up the map into a smaller square.

"It's weird man. These coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge" Sammy starts

"What about it"? Dean says, looking over at him quickly. Sammy looks down at the map again.

"There's nothing there, it's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere"? He asks. He's frustrated. We all are, I wish John would just call or something, tell us he's okay at least!

My bum cheeks start tingling. We've been driving all day and it must be at least 11pm.

"Can we stop somewhere, my bum's going numb" I say looking up at Dean hopefully. I know he wants to keep going but he sighs, defeated. He's tired too.

"Okay" he says and makes a left into Flagstaff.

Driving down the main street in the small town we pass a small strip mall and I can feel the urge to buy new, pretty things.

"Oooooooh" I say quietly, looking back at the mall.

"No, no way Soph" Dean says sternly.

"I'm not asking you to come with me" I say and he rolls his eyes.

"C'mon Dean, 1 hour that's all I'm asking for" I plead, looking over at him, trying my hardest to pull off Sammy's puppy dog look.

"Pleeeeease" I say and he shakes his head and tries to hide a smile.

"1 hour and if you're not there when we get back we're leaving without you" he warns and I throw my arms round his neck.

"Thank yooooou" I say as my heart leaps around inside my chest.

"Yeah yeah" he says and mutters something about women andshopping but I ignore it, leaning back into the back seat, a victorious smile on my face.

Dean pulls up into the floodlit parking lot of the first motel that we see and we all climb out of the Impala. I stretch my arms up into the air, standing up on my toes and I can feel my jumper rise up my waist. I spin round dramatically and Dean is looking at me over the open trunk with a weird expression but quickly looks away.

I can't stop my heart thumping in my chest. Just stop Sophie, just, stop.

I sigh and tuck my hair behind my ears. Sammy throws my bag and his over his shoulder and I smile my thanks. As we walk over to the reception desk I stumble over a pothole. Clever Sophie.

Sammy tries not to laugh and wraps his arm round my shoulders and pulls me close to his side.

"Need a hand there" he says looking down at me and I shove him playfully.

"Alright, knock it off you two" Dean says sharply and lets out a heavy sigh. Jeez, what's gotten into him! I look down at my shoes and I can feel my cheeks getting hot.

I lean against the reception desk, glaring so hard at the chipped up surface that it might just burst into flames. I hate it when Dean's mad at me, always did and I can't argue with him so I just end up sulking.

Sam nudges my shoulder and I look up at him, he winks at me and I smile a little. Still gonna sulk though.

Dean hands over one of his scammed credit cards and practically snatches the room key from the guy behind the desk. Me and Sammy follow him to the room in silence, awkward silence.

I drop my bag on one of the beds and make my way to the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack.

"Dude, what the hell was that all about?"

I hear Sammy say quietly, one of them sighs heavily, can't tell which one it is.

"I didn't mean to yell Sam, sorry" Dean says and I'm in shock. Dean Winchester, apologising, surely not!

"_I_ don't care" Sammy says "but you didn't need to yell at Soph, she didn't do anything" he says and I feel the blush rise in my cheeks. Great, now they're fighting about me.

I splash my face with cold water and my heart races as I feel something crawly run up my arm. I don't even look, I just swipe at it and a massive leggy spider drops to the floor and I can't stop the squeal that escapes from my mouth and before I know it both Dean and Sammy burst through the door, eyes wide, searching the room.

The spider runs underneath the sink and hides and I can feel my cheeks burning. I smile apologetically at them.

"Spider, a big one" I say. Sammy rolls his eyes but has a smile on his face. I look up at Dean cautiously. He smiles after a while and ruffles my hair and I can't stop the wide smile spreading across my face.

We're good.

The one thing that I don't like about this job is that you can never have any space to yourself, we're always up in each other's faces and if you're having an off day it affects everyone's moods.

Guess we'll have to get used to that again.

I flop down on the bed and I hadn't realised how tired I am, my eyelids are painfully heavy and my breathing starts to get deeper and finally, sleep takes me.

--- --- ---

The sun is bright behind my eyelids and I don't want to open my eyes. I feel someone sit on the bed at my waist and I look up groggily. Dean. My heart quickens.

"Hey sleeping beauty, you wanna ride to the mall"? He asks with a smile and I know he's only asking to make up for being a jerk last night. But I smile at him and nod, climbing out of bed I notice that I fell asleep with my clothes on. Shrugging I look around the room, No Sammy.

"Where's Sammy" I ask as I shake the contents of my duffel bag onto the bed. Bingo, shower bag, knickers and my favourite ¾ length sleeve, blue and white stripey t shirt.

"He went to get breakfast" Dean says as he flicks on the coffee maker and I skip to the bathroom. I don't have time for a shower but I wash quickly, dress, brush the determined knots out of my hair and curse as my last hair elastic snaps halfway through putting my hair into a pony tail. Oh well, down it is. I brush my teeth and smile.

"Minty fresh" I say and throw my brush and toothbrush back into my bag.

"Com'mon Soph" Dean says and I walk out, throwing my shower bag onto my bed. Dean's waiting in the open doorway and I grab my jacket and purse and slip past him, trying very hard not to breathe in his amazing Dean smell.

I climb into the passenger seat of the Impala and instantly pull down the sun visor; Dean starts the engine and pulls out of the motel. I twist the lid of my soft pink lip gloss and slide the brush over my bottom lip and mush my lips together. Dean's looking at me out of the corner of his eye and I roll my eyes.

"I know, I know" I say, "too girly"? I ask realising this is probably the most oestrogen this car has ever experienced.

"No, looks good" he says throwing me one of those smiles and my heart races at least 100 mile per hour.

Dean pulls up outside the mall.

"Thanks Dean" I say and I head toward the entrance.

"Soph" Dean yells and I turn back. God, he always did look good in that car!

"I'll pick you up in an hour" he says, I nod, terrified that if I open my mouth to speak I'll end up declaring my never ending love for him. What a mood killer that would be! I watch him drive off and head into the mall to buy new, pretty things.


	15. Chapter 15

**Next chapter. Please don't sue, I don't own anything.......**

**Enjoy.**

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 15

We pass a sign that says "Welcome to Lost Creek, Colorado".

Finally!

I pull up outside what seems to be a visitors centre and we all get out of the car and I take a deep breath of the clean air. Sophie has filled the car with the smell of a thousand different perfumes from that damn shopping mall and the flowery scent was starting to give me a headache.

She was grinning like an idiot when me and Sam picked her up; she had about a million different bags which have now filled up the trunk.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place" Sammy says.

"Oooooh, sparkly mines" Sophie says, a smile playing at her lips and her eyes all wide with excitement. I roll my eyes at her but can't help but smile; she always did like sparkly things.

Holding the door open, Sammy walks through followed by Soph and her damn perfume swishes straight up to my brain, making it fuzzy. God damn perfume! We walk round, and Sophie goes straight to the tourist pamphlets, flipping through them, probably picking out the ones she wants us to visit. I turn round and come face to face with a massive ass grizzly.

"Dude check out the size of this freakin' bear" I say to Sammy but he just rolls his eyes at me, Sophie giggles and my heart skips.........ooooookay.

"Add a dozen or more grizzlies in the area and this place is no nature hike that's for sure" Sammy says just as a guy walks into the room.

"You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance"? He says and Sophie looks down at the floor, she knows what's coming and she's trying to cover herself.

"Oh no Sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, we're just working on a paper" Sammy lies looking over at the guy.

"Recycle, man" I say, throwing my arm up in the air and Sophie tries to hide her giggle with a cough and he guy looks over at her.

Busted.

"Bull. You're friends with that Hailey girl right"? He says.

Ooookay new angle needed.

"Yes, yes we are, ranger....." name tag, name tag "...Wilkinson" I say, smiling.

"Well I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater till the 24th, so it's not exactly a missing persons now is it"? Wilkinson says, frustrated.

"You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine" he continues and I can see Soph fidget nervously and I try to ignore her.

"We will. That Hailey girl's quit a pistol, huh"? I ask innocently, yeah okay, and I can see Sophie and Sam roll their eyes

"That's putting it mildly" he says under his breath.

Ooh, light bulb moment.

"Actually you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. Y'know so she could see her brother's return date" I say trying my best to pull off Sammy's trademark puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, if it'll stop you kids comin' round here" Wilkinson says and heads back to the office out back.

"What are you cruising for a hook-up or something"? Sammy asks and I see Sophie blush making me lose my concentration a bit.

"What do you mean"? I ask casually just as Wilkinson returns with the permit. He hands it to Sophie and smiles. Creep.

"Thanks" she says quietly, pushing her hair behind her ears and we all walk out of the shack.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge so what're we waiting for, let's just go find dad. I mean why even talk to this girl"? Sammy asks, picking up the conversation. I shrug, trying to get him to drop it and Sophie walks ahead a little.

"I dunno maybe we should know what we're walking in to before we actually walk into it" I say. What's with Sam? Since when has he ever not wanted to skip the question and answer round?

"What"? Sam asks as we get back into the Impala.

"Well since when are you all shoot first ask questions later anyway"? I ask a little shocked.

"Since now" Sam says, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Oh really"? I ask sceptically, starting the car. I look back at Sophie in the rear view mirror; she's chewing on her bottom lip.

Hmmmm, something's up with her too.


	16. Chapter 16

**And another you lucky people......... no suing.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 16

Dean knocks on the front door of this Hailey girl's house and comes to Sophie stands next to me, she didn't want to come up here but Dean called her chicken.

The door opens and a pretty brunette stands there.

"You must be Hailey Collins. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Sophie. We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over; we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy" Dean lies with a charming smile, obviously checking her out. I see Sophie shift nervously next to me.

"Let me see some ID" she says before she opens the door all the way.

"Here ya go" Dean says, holding up his fake ID, smiling. Idiot.

"Come on in" Hailey says, opening the door wide.

"Thanks" Dean says walking through, I let Sophie go first and I follow. I can still smell her flowery perfume and it's making my head all fuzzy.

Hailey looks back into the street.

"That yours"? she asks, noticing the Impala.

"Yeah" Dean replies, smiling wider, checking her out, again.

"Nice car" Hailey says, closing the door.

Okay, enough of this.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong"? I ask, getting straight to the point. Sophie is obviously not comfortable so I wanna get this thing over with as soon as possible. Though, I s'pose Dean's right, we should find out what we're dealing with before we go in, guns blazing. Though, I'd never admit it to him.

"He checks in every day by cell. He e-mails photos, stupid little videos....but we haven't heard anything in over three days now" she says, running her hand through her shoulder length hair.

She is quite pretty.

"Well maybe he can't get cell reception" I say, that came out a little harsher than I meant it and I smile apologetically at her.

"He's got a satellite phone too" she says

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in"? Dean asks.

"He wouldn't do that" a kid says from the couch.

"Our parents are gone; it's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other" she says looking over at where the voice came from, the kid must be her other brother.

"Can I see the pictures he sent you"? Dean asks.

"Yeah" she says and turns the laptop around on the table. We all lean over to have a look.

"That's Tommy" she says with a sad smile, pointing to a guy on the screen.

"Hey Hailey, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge, we're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, talk to you tomorrow"

The video ends and we all straighten back up. Sophie frowns like she's spotted something but then looks up at Dean who is looking at Hailey.

"Well, we'll find your brother, we're headin' out to Blackwater ridge first thing" Dean says reassuringly as we all head back out onto the porch.

Damn right we are!

"Then maybe I'll see you there" she says and I look back at her like she's crazy. As does Dean, Sophie just looks at the floor.

"Look. I can't sit around here anymore, so I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself" Hailey says defiantly.

"I think I know how ya feel" Dean says under his breath and I look over at him. He really wants to find dad.

"Hey, you mind forwarding those videos to me"? I ask her and she nods.

"Sure".

--- --- --- ---

"So, not many people come out to Blackwater Ridge just local campers mostly. But last April, two hikers went missing out there and were never found". Sophie says, pulling out a newspaper and placing it in front of me and Dean.

"Any before that"? Dean asks, scanning the article. Sophie pushes her hair behind her ear and smiles. She's happier when she's on the trail.

"Yeah, umm, in 1982 eight different people all vanished in the same year. The authorities said it was a grizzly attack" she says animatedly, pulling out more articles from a paper folder.

"Again in 1959 and again before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork" she says and pulls my laptop over to her and types quickly.

"Okay watch this" she says, turning the laptop round to face us on the small bar table and walks round to stand in between me and Dean.

"Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy, Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out" she says, smiling.

I can still smell her perfume and I try and focus on what I'm seeing on the screen and NOT on how good she smells as guilt grips my chest.

Sophie plays the video frame by frame and something moves across one of them, fast, just outside of the tent.

"Do it again" Dean orders and Sophie leans forward into the laptop making her hair fall forward like a curtain and I look down at her and I can feel my heart quicken. She pulls back and I see that Dean is also looking at her but looks away quickly. Huh.

Sophie plays the video again.

"That's three frames, that's like, a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move". Sophie says, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Told ya something weird was goin' on" Dean says, hitting her in the arm playfully and I can see a small blush rise in her cheeks and she walks round back to her seat.

"Yeah" she says smiling.

"I got one more thing though; in 1959 one camper survived a supposed grizzly attack. He was just a kid, barely crawled out of the woods alive" she said placing another article in front of us.

"Is there a name"? I ask, scanning the article.

"Of course" she says smiling widely "but it's too late to go ask him stuff now" she says and walks over to the bar and I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the way her hips are swaying as she walks.

"Dude"! Dean says, hitting me in the arm.

"What"! I say and quickly look back at the articles, sifting through the, for any more information.

Sophie returns carrying three beers, her purse clenched between her teeth.

"Good work Soph, I knew I kept you around for somethin'" Dean said making her smile widely.

"That and I make the Impala smell nice" she says smirking. Dean just sips his beer and winks at her.

"So" she starts, rummaging round in her bag, pulling out a load of tourist pamphlets.

"I picked these up from the visitors centre..." she says, spilling them out in front of us

"....and I think we should have a day out somewhere after this job, y'know, just chill for one day". She says hopefully, looking up at Dean knowing he's gonna be the one that calls the final yes or no.

I filter through the brightly coloured paper and I roll my eyes. Seriously?!

"The Butterfly Pavilion? Denver Botanic Gardens? You gotta be kiddin' me"? Dean says taking a long swig of his beer. Sophie looks up at me a little dejected.

"Hey, this one doesn't look so bad" I say, pulling out the one with a picture of a Giraffe on the front.

"The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo" I say, opening out the pamphlet, I steal a look at Sophie and she's grinning like an idiot. That's better.

"Com'mon Dean..." she pleads "...they've got bears and elephants and ooooooh a sky ride" she says looking down at the pamphlet.

Dean shakes his head and smiles. How can anyone say no to her when she's that excited?!

"Okay, okay" Dean says in defeat and she jumps off of her stool and throws her arms around him and kisses his cheek.

"Thank you, thank you, you'll enjoy it I promise. We'll get your face painted and everything" she says.

"Yeah yeah...." he says, shrugging her off "....but only after we've finished up here" he says and she sits back down on her stool.

Where the hell is my hug! I was the one that suggested the damn zoo in the first place!


	17. Chapter 17

**..........a few more? Go one then, you twisted my arm but don't sue me 'cos I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 17

"Look ranger, I don't know why you're askin' me about this. It's public record; I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a...." Mr. Shaw starts but Sam interrupts him.

"Grizzly? That's what attacked them"?

Mr Shaw hesitates, he looks sad and I can't help but feel sorry for him. That's another reason why I'm not good at the lying game; I get too emotionally involved with the victims. If I keep my mouth shut and keep my distance, I figure I can do my job better.

Mr. Shaw nods his head.

"The other people that went missing that year...those bear attacks too? What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? If we knew what we're dealing with, we might be able to stop it" Dean says, bombarding him with questions.

"I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me, nobody ever did..." Mr. Shaw says and I look over at Sammy and raise my eyebrow.

Interesting, I feel I should be stroking my imaginary beard.

"Mr. Shaw, what did you see"? Sammy asks, pulling out the puppy dog eyes.

"Nothing. It moved too fast to see, it hid too well. I heard it though, a roar, like.....no man or animal I ever heard" he says fidgeting. He's uncomfortable, I just wanna hug him and tell him it will be okay, that we're gonna kill this thing and then it will all be over. But I can't.

I twirl the tea cup in my hand.

"It came at night"? Sam asks and Mr Shaw nods in agreement.

"Got inside your tent"?

"It got inside our cabin. I was sleepin' in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door, it unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screamin'..." Mr Shaw said, choking on the words. God, I hate this part, making people drag up horrible memories. I twist the tea cup the other way and push my hair behind my ear.

"It killed them"? Sam asks apologetically.

"Dragged them off into the night...." he said, blinking hard...."Why it left me alive....been askin' myself that ever since" he sighs.

"Did leave me this though" he says and opens up his shirt collar and I see three long white scars and I can't stop the small gasp that leaves my mouth and he looks over at me, buttoning up his shirt.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Shaw" I say apologetically.

"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon" he says and my heart starts pounding.

Is he serious?

"Yeah, well thanks for your time Mr. Shaw, you've been a real help" Sammy says, shaking his hand and the three of us walk out onto the porch and down to the car and I have this overwhelming urge to just run into the woods and kill this thing. That poor man, losing his family like that.

"Hey, you alright Soph" Dean asks, nudging me in the arm and I look up at him and I feel the usual quickening of my heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanna kill this thing" I say, scuffing my sneakers on the road, shoving my hands deep in my jean pockets.

"Aww, my little murderous is getting impatient" he teases, pulling me into a tight hug and my heart feel like it's stopped beating. I wrap my arms round his waist and I try not to breathe. If I let "Dean smell" fill my head I won't let him go.

But, he's not letting me go and my heart races back into action going so fast it's humming painfully inside my chest.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want in they just go through the walls..." Sam says from behind me, Dean still hasn't let me go and I try my best to stop a massive smile spreading across my face.

"...So it's probably something else, something corporeal" Sam says and I try and hide a giggle. Corporeal?

Dean finally drops his arms from around me and I my heart lurches. What Soph, did you really think he was gonna stand there with you forever?

"Corporeal? Excuse me professor" he says smiling and we walk over to the car.

"Shut up" Sam says, throwing a smile at me

"So what do you think"? He asks

"Well, going by the claws and the speed that it moves, it could be a skin walker, maybe a black dog". I start

"But whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature and it's..." I clear my throat "..Corporeal. Which means we can kill it" I say, smirking up at Sammy and he narrows his eyes at me in a mock glare.

Dean pops the trunk and props it open with a shot gun and groans as he looks at my girly shopping bags filling the trunk. He rummages around and starts to throw some pistols and ammo into the spare duffel bag.

"Well, one thing's for sure, we can't let that Hailey girl go out there" Dean says and my stomach twists at that sound of her name.

Uugh, Hailey. I'd kinda forgotten about her and the way Dean was so obviously into her. Uuuugh.

"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster"? Sam asks sarcastically.

"Yeah....." Dean says and looks at Sam like that was obvious. "......Her brother's missing Sam. She's not just gonna sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator-friend" Dean yells.

Great, another fight.

"Finding dad's not enough"? Sammy yells slamming the trunk closed, I wince at the sound it makes.

I hate it when my boys fight.

"Now we gotta babysit too"? Sammy yells, Dean just stares at Sammy.

"Guys....." I start

"What"? Sammy yells at me but immediately looks sorry.

"Sorry Soph" he says quietly and I shrug.

"Look, let's just get going huh"? Dean says, getting in the car. Me and Sammy follow suit and we speed off down the street.

--- --- --- ---

The ride back to the motel is awkwardly silent. I hate it when they fight and I hate the tension.

The trip to the zoo will do them both good.

We pull up in the parking lot of the motel and it's starting to get dark. I climb out and open the trunk, grabbing my morning's purchases and I can't help but smile.

Shopping was fun.

"Need a hand" Sammy asks and I smile, he grabs my bags from me and I close the trunk.

"Jeez Soph, what the hell did you buy..." Sammy complains, hauling my many bags across the parking lot "...these bags weigh a ton" but I just smile up at him.

Dean unlocks the door and throws the gun bag on his bed. Sammy drops my bags onto my bed as I close the door and I turn round smiling and delve straight into my purchases.

Dean rolls his eyes at me with a lopsided smile and I start pulling out all of the clothes I've bought, laying them all out on the bed so I can admire them. I set my three perfume bottles on my nightstand along with the two new nail polishes.

Dean looks up from cleaning his pistol and sighs.

"Y'know, the Impala isn't a freakin' wardrobe on wheels" he complains but he doesn't really mean it, he's smiling.

I look down at a white box with a black satin ribbon tied round it. I pick it up and place it on the bed; stroking it lovingly knowing its contents is just....amazing!

"You not gonna open that one" Sammy asks from behind his laptop. I smile, looking down at the box.

"Nope, this one's special" I say.

"What is it"? Dean asks his eyes full of curiousity and I look up at him and I can feel the blush rising in my cheeks.

"Oh, nothin' really. Just, saving it" I say and a rush of hope floods me. One day. One day I'll be able to wear what's in that box and a massive smile spreads across my face.

Dean mutters something about women and shopping, Sammy just rolls his eyes.

Boys, they just don't get it.


	18. Chapter 18

**........it just keeps on going.........but it will stop if you sue so please don't 'cos I don't own a thing.**

**Enjoy.**

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 19

We pull up and I can see Hailey, her brother and another dude talking just up ahead.

We all get out of the car and I grab the gun bag and throw it over my shoulder. I can see Sophie tuck her hair behind her ear and I feel kinda uneasy. Wish she'd stayed back at the motel.

We're getting close. Okay, game face Dean.

"You guys got room for three more"? I ask looking over at Hailey with a smile.

"Wait, you wanna come with us"? She asks in disbelief.

"Who are these guys"? The dude asks defensively.

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for search and rescue" Hailey says sarcastically.

Well, you're welcome!

"You're rangers"? The guy asks looking over at Sophie apraisingly. This guy is starting to piss me off already.

"That's right" Sammy says, obviously sensing my mood.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans"? Hailey says, checking me out.

Hmmm.

"Well sweetheart, I don't do shorts" I say winking.

"What, you think this is funny? Its dangerous backcountry out there, her brother might be hurt" the guy says sternly.

Gimme a break.

"Believe me; I know how dangerous this could get. We just wanna help her find her brother, that's all" I say heavily.

"Okay, okay" the guy says "I'm Roy" he says holding out his hand, I take it and squeeze a little harder than necessary. He looks over at Sophie again and I feel my fists balling at my sides but we start walking up the trail.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting" Sammy asks

"Yeah, more than a little" Roy says and winks at Sophie making her blush and look down at her feet and I suddenly feel the urge to break Roy's nose.

"Uhhuh....What kinda furry critters do you hunt"? I ask harshly bringing his attention back to me.

"Mostly buck sometimes bear" he says and I can practically see him puffing out his chest.

"Tell me, uh....Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back"? I ask and Roy grabs me by the shirt, pulling me back.

"Whatch'ya doin' Roy"? I yell and I watch as he puts a stick to the ground. A bear trap snaps up and smashes it to pieces.

Way to go Dean, dumbass.

"You should watch where you're stepping...ranger" Roy spits at me.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers so who the hell are you"? Hailey asks angrily.

"Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat" I say shrugging.

"And what's she got to do with it" she says, pointing back at Sophie.

"She's with us" I say and it comes out a bit defensively.

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start"? She sighs and runs her fingers through her brown hair.

Cute.

"I'm telling you now. Besides it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. Ever. So we okay"? I say quietly. Well, it's kinda true.

"Yeah, okay" she says and starts to walk on.

"And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions"? I say, pulling out the bag of Peanut M&Ms I stashed in my pocket and smile and we walk on a bit more in silence.

--- --- --- ---

"This is it...Blackwater Ridge" Roy says. Jeez, every time that guy opens his mouth I just wanna punch him in the face.

"What coordinates do we have"? Sammy asks and Roy pulls out his GPS. Geek.

"35-111" he says.

"You hear that"? Sophie asks, walking up to stand next to me.

"Yeah, not even crickets" Sammy says.

Creepy.

"I'm gonna take a look around" Roy says. Thank God, finally some peace.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself" Sophie says and Roy looks up at her with a creepy ass smile.

God damn it woman!

"That's sweet..Don't worry about me sugar" he says and I can almost see Sophie cringe.

I've had enough of this.

"All right, everybody stays together. Let's go" I say, pushing everyone forward.

"Hailey, over here". Roy says from further up the trail and she runs on up ahead. I look over at Sam and the three of us run up ahead.

The campsite is a wreck and there's blood everywhere.

"Looks like a grizzly" Roy says. Jackass.

"Tommy"? Hailey yells, throwing her backpack on the ground "Tommy"?!

"Shh" Sam yells through gritted teeth.

"Tommy"!? She yells again.

"Shhhhh" Sammy yells at her. Does this girl not know how to shut the hell up!?

"Why"? She yells,

"Something might still be out there" Sophie says through gritted teeth and I can feel my eyes bug out of my head.

I have never seen Sophie so, so, angry!

I look round the campsite looking for a clue as to where these guys have gone.

Bingo!

"Sam"!

Sam and Sophie run over to where I'm standing.

"Looks like the bodies were dragged from the campsite......" Sophie says, kneeling down to look at the tracks ".......But here the tracks just vanish" she says standing again.

"That's weird....." Sam says ".....I'll tell you what...that's no skin walker or black dog".

I hear Hailey sobbing from behind me and Sophie looks at her with glassy eyes.

"Hey, he could still be alive" Sophie says, placing a hand on her shoulder.

**"Help!!! Help!!!"**

I can feel the adrenaline pumping through me and we all run off in the direction of the screaming.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here didn't it"? Hailey says and I suddenly get that feeling in my stomach, like I've swallowed a rock.

This is not good.

"Everybody back to camp" Sam yells and we run back as fast as we can.

Damn! Everything's gone.

"Our packs" Hailey says in disbelief.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone" Roy says and I have never wanted to punch someone so much in my life.

"What the hell is going on"? Hailey yells.

"It's smart, it wants to cut us off so we can't call for help" Sophie says, and she's right.

"You mean someone, some nut job out there just stole all our gear" Roy says. I look over at Sophie and I feel my stomach knot. I wish she's stayed at the motel.

"I need to speak with you two...in private" Sam says and pulls both me and Sophie into the woods.

"Let me see dad's journal" Sam asks and I pull it out from the duffel and hand it over.

"All right, check that out" he says pointing at a drawing of a creature that looks like the shadow in Tommy's video.

You gotta be kidding me!?

"Oh come on, Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west" I say, brushing it off but I know he's right.

"Think about it Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice" Sam says.

"Wendigo......"? Sophie asks "....Great, well this is useless" she says waving her pistol around. Sam hands me back the journal and I stuff it back in the duffel.

"We gotta get these people to safety" Sam says and walks back up to the campsite, me and Sophie following behind.

"All right listen up, time to go. Things have gotten more....complicated" Sammy yells.

"What"? Hailey yells.

Nice Sammy, smooth.

"Kid don't worry, whatever's out there, I think I can handle it" Roy says with a smug smile. Jackass, he has no idea!

"It's not me I'm worried about; if you shoot this thing you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave now" Sammy says but Roy doesn't listen.

"One, you're talking nonsense and two, you're in no position to give anybody orders" Roy says and I can feel my fists balling at my sides. Sophie steps forward placing herself between me and Roy. She thinks I'm gonna start somethin', she could be right.

"Relax....." Sophie says looking up at Roy ".....We never should have let you come out here in the first place. We're trying to protect you".

"You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight" he shoots back at her and I step forward fully intending on doing some kinda damage. That is, until Sophie erupts!

"Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass outta here" she screams at him, pushing him back a step but Roy just laughs at her which seems to piss her off more.

"You know you're crazy right"? He says, stepping forward.

That's it, I've had enough!

"Yeah? You ever hunt a win...." she starts

"Sophie" I yell and she stops and looks up at me with crazy angry eyes.

"Stop; stop it, everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive, and I'm not leaving here without him" Hailey yells and I pull Sophie back from Roy, she looks like she's gonna beat the crap outta him.

"It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves" I say running my hand through my hair.


	19. Chapter 19

**.............scream if you wanna go faster......**

**(no suing)**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 20

I look up and see Dean drawing protective Anasazi symbols in the dirt with a stick while Sophie's loading the flare pistols by the campfire.

"One more time that's...?" Hailey asks.

"Anasazi symbols. It's for protection, the wendigo can't cross over them" Dean says smiling over at Hailey.

Roy laughs.

"Nobody likes a sceptic, Roy" Dean says over his shoulder as he walks over to Sophie.

"You wanna tell me what's goin' on in that crazy little head of yours"? He asks her quietly.

"Dean....." She starts.

"No you're not fine; you're like a powder keg Soph it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember"? He says, making her laugh.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just, Roy pisses me off" she says quietly, loading another pistol with flares.

Dean smiles widely at her and throws his arm round her shoulders and I try to keep my heart beating at a normal pace......odd.

I go and sit next to them.

"Dad's not here. I mean that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right"? I say to Dean and I let out a sigh.

"Yeah you're probably right. To tell you the truth I don't think dad's ever been to Lost Creek" Dean admits throwing the stick on the floor.

"Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road, go find dad. I mean, why are we still here"? I say. Sophie sighs heavily, sensing an argument.

"This is why..." Dean says through gritted teeth holding up dad's journal ".....This book. This is dad's single most valuable possession, everything he knows about every evil thing is in here and he's passed it on to us, I think he wants us to pick up where he left off, you know saving people, hunting things..." Dean says through gritted teeth "....The family business"

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Sophie wince....weird.

"That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just call us? Why doesn't he tell us what he wants; tell us where he is"? I say barely hiding my frustration.

"I dunno. But the way I see it, dad's giving us a job to do and I intend to do it". Dean says.

"Don't start guys" Sophie says tucking her hair behind her ears, not looking up at either of us but I ignore her.

"I gotta find dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about" I say and I suddenly realise it's not entirely true.

"Ok, all right, Sam we'll find them I promise. Listen to me, you've gotta prepare yourself. I mean this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul, it's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience man" Dean says, looking up at me with a look of concern, letting his guard down.

"How do you do it? How does dad do it"? I ask, running my hand through my hair.

"Well for one, them...." he says, looking up at Hailey and her brother ".....I mean I figure our family's so screwed to hell; maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little more bearable. I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many sons of bitches as I possibly can" Dean says and out of the corner of my eye I can see Sophie smiling like a crazy person.

**"Help me! Please! Help"!**

I can feel the adrenaline start to rush through me and my legs feel twitchy, like I want to run after it.

"He's trying to draw us out" Sophie says looking out into the woods, her wide, coffee coloured eyes searching the forest.

"Just stay cool, stay put, inside the magic circle" Dean yells.

**"Help! Help me"!**

"Ok that's no grizzly" Roy says shakily. Good, he's scared now.

"It's ok, you'll be all right I promise" Hailey yells out into the woods.

The animal screams. It's close.

"It's here" I say and Roy starts shooting out into the forest. Jackass.

"I hit it"! He yells and starts to run after it.

"Roy, no! Roy"! Dean yells at him

"Don't move" I yell at Hailey and her brother and me and Soph run out into the forest after Dean, Roy and the Wendigo.

"It's over here! It's in the tree"! Roy yells and I stop dead in my tracks as I hear the disgusting sound of bones being crushed.

"Roy"! Dean yells but it's too late.

--- --- --- ---

It's cold.

I can feel the cold silver against my wrist and I tuck it back up into my sleeve feeling the dull ache in my chest turn into sharp stabs.

"I don't...I mean these types of things they aren't supposed to be real" Hailey says, running her fingers through her hair.

"I wish I could tell you different" Dean says, checking and rechecking his flare gun is loaded right.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us"? She asks, shivering.

"We don't. But we're safe for now" Sophie says, placing a flare gun in the waistband of her jeans.

"How do you know about this stuff"? She asks, looking up at me.

"Kinda runs in the family" I say.

"Hey. So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I, for one, want to kill this evil son of a bitch" Dean says, looking restless.

"Well hell, you know I'm in" I say and both me and Dean look over at Sophie and I get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I've swallowed a rock. Wish she'd stayed back at the motel.

She's smiling. Guess she's in too.


	20. Chapter 20

**The phenultimate chapter guys, not far to go now..........please don't sue me, I own nothing.**

**Enjoy**

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Chapter 21

"Wendigo is an Indian word. It means evil that devours" I say looking down at the ground for a second. If I don't look down every couple of seconds I just know I'm gonna fall down and make a complete idiot of myself.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man, sometimes an Indian, other times a frontiersman or a miner or a hunter" Dean finishes.

"How does a man turn into one of those things"? Hailey asks, walking next to me.

"Well it's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp" Dean says.

Nice Dean, tactful.

"Like the Donor Party" Hailey's brother says and I try and hide a smile.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality" Sammy explains.

"If you eat enough of it, over the years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry" Dean says.

Eeew, I hate Wendigos.

"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive"? Hailey asks stupidly. She really, really doesn't want the answer to that question.

"You're not gonna like it" I say quietly.

"Tell me"

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It uh, stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe. We gotta track it back there" Dean says and I look up at him.

Mistake.

I feel my foot hook under something hard and I'm suddenly flying forward. I feel an arm wrap round my waist and pulls me close and my back hits something warm and hard.

Dean.

My heart stops, my body tingles and I can't move.

"You alright" he asks quietly next to my ear. I nod 'cos I can't make my voice work. I steady my balance and Dean lets go of me, walking ahead. I let out a deep breath and continue walking, carefully, after them.

"How do we stop it"? Hailey asks and I can barely hear it over the drumming of my heart.

"Well guns are useless so are knives, basically we gotta torch the sucker" he says, pulling out a can of lighter fluid and smiling.

Walking forward I trip, again, and fall against a tree. Damn, I must be like, the world's most uncoordinated person! I push against the tree with my hand and I feel something sticky beneath it. Pulling my hand away I look at it.

Blood. I look at the tree, claw marks.

"Guys"!

"What is it"? Dean asks looking round quickly, and I hold up my bloody hand and he and Sammy walk back quickly.

"Are you okay" Dean asks, taking my hand. He thinks it's mine.

"It's not mine Dean, it's on the tree" I say and I look back at the tree, trying very hard to ignore the fact that Dean is still holding my hand.

There are broken branches, all covered in blood.

"You know...I was thinking...those claw prints, so clear and distinct, they were almost too easy to follow" Sammy says running a hand through his hair.

A growl echoes into the forest and the adrenaline makes my heart thump loudly in my ears.

Hailey bumps up against a tree and Roy's slashed, bloody body falls to the ground and she screams. Sammy runs over to her trying to calm her as Dean checks over the body.

"His neck's broke" Dean says and another growl echoes out.

"Okay run, run, run, run, go, go"! Dean yells and we all run out of the small clearing. I look back over my shoulder and Ben has fallen over, I run back to help him up.

"Come on, I gotcha" I say, dragging him up off of the ground, Dean and Hailey have run on ahead and I hear her scream.

"Hailey"!? Ben yells, running in the direction of the scream and me and Sammy run after him.

Hailey and Dean aren't there and my chest feels like it's gonna explode.

"Dean"!!! Sammy yells, no reply.

"Dean"!!! I yell, finally finding my voice. I can feel my hands start to shake.

Pull yourself together Sophie, falling apart is NOT going to help.

"Shit, Sam...." I say looking up at him and he walks over to me and looks right into my eyes.

"He's gonna be fine Sophie. We will find them" he says without doubt and I feel my panic start to ebb. I nod and look over at Ben, he's crying.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay Ben. We're gonna find Hailey and your brother....." I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and he looks up at me "....I promise"

I WILL find Dean and he WILL be alright and I WILL kill this thing.

"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy"? Ben asks shaking his head.

"Honestly, I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off" Sammy says. Ben squints at something over my shoulder and walks over to whatever it is he's seen and bends down.

"They went this way" he says and me and Sammy walk over to him. He hands something round and blue to Sammy and my heart lurches into my mouth.

M&Ms.

Sam laughs next to me and I smile.

"It's better than bread crumbs" he says and we start following the candy trail and with every step I can feel the panic getting stronger and stronger.

--- --- --- ---

We walk until we see a tunnel up ahead with big, warning signs all over it.

Yeah, like that's gonna stop me.

I lead the way into the dark creepy tunnel and my heart is beating so hard in my chest it hurts. I hear a growl close up ahead and I can just about see something moving towards us, fast. Sam curses under his breath and I can feel him push me out of the way of the speeding monster which sends me hurtling to the ground and I look up just in time to see it head down another tunnel.

"Soph, you okay" Sammy asks as I haul myself up off of the ground.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine...." I say "....it went that way" pointing toward the tunnel and the three of us walk into it.

I can hear the floorboards creek underneath me and suddenly I'm falling and then I feel Sammy grab my jacket.

"Sophie"! He yells as I slip through my jacket and I land on a pile of bones.

Ouch!

"Eeeeew" I say standing up quickly.

"Soph, Sophie are you okay" Sammy yells down at me.

"Yeah Sam, I'm fine" I yell back up and I can see Dean and Hailey hanging from the ceiling and my heart stops for a second then restarts at a million miles an hour.

"Sam it's Dean"! I yell, choking on the words and run over to Dean.

He's not moving, his eyes are shut. Shit. My heart feels like its imploding, my ribs cracking around it.

"Dean"! I yell, shaking him and I look over to see Ben run over to Hailey.

"Hailey wake up"! Ben yells at his sister.

"Dean"! I yell louder, shaking him harder.

He HAS to be okay - I can feel myself start to fall apart just as his beautiful green eyes open and I can feel my eyes fill with tears but I quickly blink them away.

"Hey, you okay"? Sammy asks him, resting a hand on my shoulder and I immediately start to calm down. I see Dean wince and my heart rips apart a little.

"Yeah" he says breathlessly.

"Hailey, wake up, wake up" Ben screams at Hailey and her eyes flutter open.

Okay, we're good so far.

Me and Sammy untie Dean while Ben unties Hailey and as Dean hits the floor he winces again and my heart tears further and my breath catches in my throat.

"You sure you're all right"? Sammy asks, Dean looks up at me but then quickly looks back at Sammy.

"Yeah. Yep, where is he"? Dean asks, focused.

"He's gone for now" I choke out.

I can hear Hailey start crying behind me and I want to turn round, I really do but I can't take my eyes off Dean.

"Tommy"? I hear her say and still I can't move.

"Cut him down" she says. Sammy and Ben rush over and cut him down from the ceiling.

Dean looks up at me. He's not looking away, neither am I.

"You alright" Dean asks me and I nod, my body becoming my own again. He leans against a crate and starts loading his flare gun.

"We're gonna get you home" Hailey says to Tommy.

"Okay, we're leaving" Sammy says, Hailey and Ben drape their brother's arms over their shoulders and we all head out of the tunnel, Dean, Sammy and me leading flare guns at the ready.

We're about half way down the tunnel when the monster growls, sending a shiver of adrenaline down my spine.

"Looks like someone's home for supper" Dean says.

"We'll never outrun it" Hailey says and I look up at Dean and he's smiling. Only Dean can smile when our lives are in danger. He looks over at Sammy.

"You thinking what I'm thinking"? He asks Sammy and he nods.

"Yeah I think so" he says.

"All right listen to me. Stay with Sam, he's gonna get you out of here" Dean says.

"What are you gonna do"? Hailey asks and Dean and looks over at me, I know that face.

Okay, show time, I take a deep breath and me and Dean start walking forward.

"Chow time you freaky bastard! Yeah that's right, bring it on baby, I'm feelin' good" Dean yells loudly down the tunnel and I look around wildly as my job as lookout.

"Hey! Hey you want some white meat bitch!? I'm right here"! Dean yells louder and I can hear a growl but, its behind us.

Damn!

"Get him outta here" I hear Sammy yell and I look back.

"Sam, no" Hailey yells and my stomach knots painfully.

"Go! Go"! I hear him yell and Hailey, Ben and Tommy run past us and out of the tunnel.

Good, 3 out of 6.

Damn, it's so dark I can barely see anything! I can hear however, and I can hear a growl coming from where I think Sammy is and my heart lurches again.

I hear a gunshot and my heart stops but then I hear fast footsteps running toward the entrance and I can breathe. Sam's out.

4 out of 6, just need one more and it had better be a Winchester.

I hear a roar behind me and I can see it's silhouette at the exit and start running toward it. How the hell did it get past us!

"SOPH" I hear Dean whisper through gritted teeth but I ignore him.

I silently walk up behind it, it's roaring so loud I don't think it'd hear me anyway and cock my flare gun, aiming it in the middle of its back.

"Hey"! I yell from behind it, it turns around quickly and I squeeze the trigger and it bursts into flames.

................it's over.................

We all just stand there for a minute, letting the fact that its over sink in. My breathing starts to become more even and I start to feel my heart slow to a normal rhythm.

"Not bad, huh"? I say smiling.


	21. Chapter 21

**Final chapter of the episode guys. I'm having so much fun writing this I think I'm gonna keep going even if you all stop reading. I hope you don't though 'cos our troublesome threesome head out to the zoo..... Please review, please please please......but no suing.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 22

"...and the bear came back again after you yelled at it"? The cop asks Ben. The kids doing a good job.

"That's when it circled the campsite; I mean this grizzly must have weighed 800-900 pounds" he embellishes.

"All right we'll go after it first thing" the cop says and I turn back to look at Hailey.

"So I don't know how to thank you" she says smiling and I raise an eyebrow and throw her a charming smile.

Might as well give it a shot right?

"Must you cheapen the moment"? She asks, smiling.

"Yeah" I say though I don't think I'm getting anywhere.

"You riding with your brother"? A paramedic asks Hailey and she nods.

Damn.

"Yeah, let's go" she says and leans up and kisses me on the cheek and I can't stop the smile from forming.

"I hope you find your father" she says and walks over to Sam and Sophie.

"Thanks Sam, Sophie" she says and climbs into the back of the ambulance with her brothers and I watch the ambulance take off down the road.

"I hate camping" Sophie says letting out a long breath and I smile widely, wrapping my arm round her shoulders.

"Me too" Sam says, also letting out a heavy breath.

"Sam, you know we're gonna find dad, right"? I say, looking up at him.

"Yeah I know...but in the mean time...I'm driving" he says smiling.

I don't think so!

"I don't think so Winchester......." Sophie says ".....I saved the day, I get to drive" she says looking up at me hopefully.

I smile and toss the keys in her direction, she catches them and does the I-get-to-drive-the-Impala dance.

"Alright sweetheart, enough gloating, Now get in the car" I say smiling at her.

She did good.


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay.............so I had a hard time writting these Zoo chapters. I mean, it's hard trying to picture the Winchesters at a zoo! Would really appreciate some reviews for these chapters, let me know what you think. Please no suing.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 23

Okay......this could be worse than hunting the Wendigo. There are screaming kids everywhere but the look on Sophie's face as we walk through the big gates is enough to make me suck it up and try and enjoy it, I mean, it's just 1 day.

"Sammy, Sammy look"! She squeals jumping up and down pointing over to the giraffe enclosure. I look over at Dean who looks like he's gonna be sick.

"It's like babysitting a 6 year old" he mutters as she grabs us both by the sleeves of our jackets and pulls us over to the rail.

I've never really paid that much attention before, I mean, when have I ever had too, but giraffes are weird. They're like fuzzy dinosaurs with they're long necks and knobbly antler things.

"Hey, you wanna feed one" a zoo keeper asks Sophie with a wink and I knew this whole freaky family day trip was a bad idea, I can feel my fists balling at my sides as I watch him check her out. She blushes and holds out her hands, the guy places a couple of dry crackers in her outstretched hands and turns back to the herd of giraffes and whistles, they slowly start walking over.

Sophie leans back a little bit apprehensively. Freak. Wendigos and ghosts she can handle but she gets nervous feeding a freakin' giraffe. The smallest giraffe sticks out its long blue tongue and licks up the cracker from Sophie's hand and she winces, smiling.

"Eeeeeeew" she laughs.

"Giraffes are big hearted creatures...." Dean starts patronizingly, reading from the brightly coloured information stand next to the enclosure ".....They need their 26lb heart and high blood pressure to stop them fainting when they raise their heads from ground level" he finishes looking up at Sophie.

"Learn somethin' new everyday" he says and walks on down the trail.

Sophie bounds up to me, hooking her arm in mine and we follow Dean further up the trail. She looks up at me and frowns.

"Com'mon Sammy, at least try and enjoy it" she says and I roll my eyes. Okay.

"Dude, elephants" Dean says pointing over to the bug grey animals in the next enclosure.

I think he's already enjoying himself more than he's letting on but then I realise that I have never actually seen any of these animals in real life. We didn't exactly have a normal upbringing, no family trips out unless you count a short ride to the local armoury, and I don't.

Sophie leans over the rail next to Dean looking over at the elephants and I must admit, they are impressive.

"Okay" Sophie says tugging my sleeve to go and stand next to Dean and she rummages around in her backpack and pulls out a slim line camera.

"No, no, no..." Dean starts "...Soph, no pictures"

"Dean Winchester...." she says, her coffee eyes turning into molten lava "...you will enjoy yourself today and you will have your picture taken with Sammy and the elephant".

"Dude, you better do as she says" I say and he sighs, shaking his head.

"Good boy" Sophie mutters holding the camera up to eye level, smiling.

"Smile" she sings and the flashlight goes off making me see orange spots.

--- --- --- ---

"So we've done the African Rift Valley, Australia and My Big Back Yard" Sophie says with a smile, looking at the zoo map splayed out on the picnic table.

I must admit, this is more fun than I thought it would be, especially seeing that grizzly scared the crap outta Dean when he was trying to stare him down.

Sophie is having the time of her life, she can't stop oohing and aahing over things and making cutsie baby noises at the baby animals. She's such a girl..... and I've been trying to ignore how true that is all day.

"Okay, where next ranger" Dean says through a mouthful of hotdog. Nice. Sophie pushes her hair behind her ears and looks down at the map, ignoring the drops of ketchup on it.

"Ummmmmm..." she says, placing a fingertip on her bottom lip and I am totally fixated

"...Cougar Canyon" she says loudly making me jerk awake out of my totally inappropriate daze.

Dean shoves the last of his hotdog into his mouth and sits next to Sophie, taking the camera out of her backpack he gestures for her to go sit round next to me and she skips over, throwing her arms round my chest she kisses me on the cheek just as the flashlight goes...orange spots, heart thumping, skin tingly.

Gimme a break.


	23. Chapter 23

**More from the Zoo.........no suing, I own nothing!**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 24

This zoo's not so bad, sure it's full of screaming brats and the hotdogs aren't that great but it's all worth it to see the massive smile that's been on Sophie's face since we walked through the gates.

She's taken like, a million pictures and I'm kinda excited about seeing them, the only photo I've got of me and Sammy is the one I swiped from dad's room back in Jericho.

She's cooing over one of the mountain lions.

"I want one" she says looking at the thing like she wants to dress it up in booties and push it round the zoo in a buggy.

"Soph, the thing could probably kill you in two seconds flat" Sammy says and she frowns.

"No it wouldn't"... she says, looking back at the big cat which rolls over onto its side and looks up at her with glassy eyes that could rival Sam's...."it likes me".

Only Sophie would wanna take home the craziest animal in the whole freakin' zoo, but then something else catches her eye and she's off, walking over to the next enclosure.

Crazy.

I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I'd been holding and follow after her along with Sammy.

"Kinda worth it huh"? He says quietly nodding over at Sophie who is now cooing over a porcupine of all things! I let the smile spread across my face.

"Com'mon" she says, waving us over and we both walk over.

Porcupines are creepy lookin'.

--- --- ---

It's getting darker but Sophie has insisted that we have to stay for the sunset mountaineer sky ride, whatever that is....

Ahhh, orange spots.

"God damn woman" I yell, rubbing my eyes and I can hear her giggle loudly.

"Gotchya"

"Gimme that camera" I say, running over to her and she screams as she runs further down the trail and I can hear Sammy laugh at us so hard he might pee himslef.

I grab Sophie's jacket collar and she lurches back but wiggles her arms out and I'm left holding her jacket, she turns back at me and smirks and walks back waving the camera in the air.

"Getting slow Winchester" she teases and then bumps right into Sam who grabs the camera and holds it at arm's length above his head. I can feel the victorious smile on my face as Sophie jumps up to grab it, failing.

"No fair" she says smiling as she reaches out for it again but Sammy just yanks it back.

I hear a growl and it echoes painfully in my chest.

That sounds familiar.

I whip round, looking over at the spot where the growl came from, the adrenaline rushing through me.

"It's just a lion Dean" Sophie says smirking up at me and I let out a breath.

Smooth.

"Hey guys, it's six" Sammy says looking at his watch in disbelief. Jeez, we've spent like all day here!

"Oooooohh, good..." Sophie says running her fingers through her hair which looks fire red in the setting sun "....time for the sky ride".


	24. Chapter 24

**The day at the Zoo draws to a close and I'm working on the next episode. Please dont sue but please review.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 25

This has been the best day EVER!

I really didn't think the guys were gonna like it all that much but they've been running round the zoo like 6 year olds! It's been amazing.

The guy at the booth hands me my change and we cue with the rest of the people waiting for the sky ride.

This is gonna be amazing! A sunset sky ride over the zoo!

It's such a clear evening, we're gonna be able to see the Cheyenne Mountain and Colorado Springs and I feel excitement grip my chest. I look up at Sammy and he smiles back at me, wrapping a warm arm round my shoulders. It's starting to get cold, I tuck my hands up inside the cuffs of my jacket and I can hear one of the zoo guides let the first group into a swing chair.

The line moves quickly and I look up at Sammy, then at Dean. I don't think I have ever seen them so relaxed and I smile. The whole purpose of this trip was to get them to have a bit of fun and relax a little and it's worked.

I'm a genius.

Yay! We're next.

"Havin' a good day sweetheart" the guy taking tickets asks me with a charming smile and I immediately feel the blush rise in my cheeks.

He's cute.

"Yeah, best day ever" I say smiling up at him and I can feel both boys straighten up making me feel uncomfortable.

"Well, here's your ride" the guy says to me with a wink, totally ignoring the guys, and he holds out a hand to help me onto the swing chair. I smile up at him, my cheeks feeling like they're throbbing neon pink and I take his hand and step into the chair, it swings forward and I plonk back into the seat like an idiot.

Smooth Sophie, smooth.

Dean grumbles something about heights and I smile up encouragingly at him and he carefully sits next to me.

"Budge up dude" Sammy says as he gets in and Dean squishes himself up next to my side, resting his arm on the back of the chair and I can feel my heart thud painfully in my chest and I pathetically try and cover the catch of my breath as a cough.

"Well, have fun sweetheart" he says and Dean wraps his arm further round my shoulders and I try and breathe normally.

The chair jerks forward sharply and we're on our way.

It's beautiful; the orangey-purple glow from the setting sun throws dramatic shadows on the floor making everything look ten times prettier.

Dean is radiating heat against me and I rest my head on his shoulder, this feels so good.

Too good.

I swallow hard and try to ignore the stabbing pain in my chest.

I hear a wolf howl from below us and I lean forward making the swing rock.

"Jeez Soph" Dean yells grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling me back into his side and try and hide my laugh.

"Chill Dean, we're not gonna fall" I say

"I know" he says putting on his tough-guy face and I smirk. He's such a baby when it comes to heights, always was.

"You okay or there Sammy boy" I say, looking past Dean over at Sammy, he looks sad.

"Sure am kiddo" he says smiling back at me.

I know they're humouring me with this whole zoo trip but it really has been a good day out, and I mean, how often are we gonna be able to do normal family stuff like this again?

Never, that's when.

I remember how much it hurt back in Blackwater when Dean and Sammy were fighting about John and Dean said that John wanted them to carry on the family business. I mean, I'm not family so I know I shouldn't of got upset but I had never felt so much like a third wheel in my life. I mean, I know Dean asked for my help an' all but I mean....I don't know, guess I'm just being silly as usual.

"Hey Soph" Dean says and I look back over my shoulder at him, he's got the camera aimed at me and I smile......pink spots flood my vision. I get my focus back and I can see Dean smile down at the camera's LCD screen and then quickly shove it in his jacket pocket.

I can't wait to get the photos developed.

We're coming up to the peak and I can see some picnic benches and a coffee shop. Good, I could do with a coffee, I suddenly feel tired.

--- --- --- ---

Skipping off of the swing chair I catch my foot on the track and my stomach lurches as the ground comes closer and closer to my face....strong arms catch me. Dean. I look up at him and I can feel my cheeks glowing red and my heart stops and starts uncomfortably.

"Alright"? He asks looking down at me with those amazing green eyes and butterflies erupt in my stomach and my mouth becomes dry. I nod and he puts me back on my feet, holding my shoulders as I get my balance. I look up at him and smile apologetically, he's smiling back........he hasn't let go of my shoulders and I can't remember how to breathe.

"Coffee"? Sammy asks, interrupting whatever weirdness Dean is going through and he quickly drops his arms from my shoulders and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"Sure" I say and walk past Dean and hook my arm through Sammy's and all three all of us walk over to the coffee stand.

Sat on top of a picnic table, sipping my coffee and watching the sun set with the boys, could it get any better than this?......well, yeah but I'm not gonna think about that, I'm just happy I get this bit.

"I have to say Soph, this has been a pretty awesome day" Sammy says looking up at me from his seat on the picnic bench and I can feel the smile spread across my face.

We sit in contended silence until the sun goes behind the trees.


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay, here we go with the next episode. Please don't sue, I don't own anything. It's been a bit crazy this week so bare with me, I am working on the rest.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 26 – Dead in the Water

Sophie pushes her long hair behind her ears and her nose wrinkles up at something she's reading in the newspaper and I try and fight the smile that I can feel tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Can I get you anything else"? the waitress asks. Hot.

"Just the check, please" Sammy says sitting back down next to Soph.

"Okay" she says, walking away and I shake my head at him.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while...." I say, pointing to our hot waitress ".....That's fun". Sammy just rolls his eyes and Sophie looks up at the waitress and checks her out, shrugs and goes back to reading the paper.

Well, I thought she was hot.

"Here, take a look at this...." Sophie says pushing the paper over to me and leaning across the table "....I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton walks into the lake but doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water and came up empty".

Her hair falls forward and my brain stops working, she's changed her shampoo and now she smells of Oranges. My heart beat quickens, chill Dean.

"Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either, says they had a funeral two days ago" she continues, pulling me from the orangey haze.

"A funeral"? I ask

"They buried an empty coffin for uh, closure I guess" Sophie says, pushing her hair behind her ear and sits back down next to Sam. He lifts his arm and rests it along the back of the booth and Sophie leans into him and I can feel my fists balling....chill, freak.

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear Soph, other people just stop looking for them" Sam says snippily, glancing up at me.

"Something you want to say to me"? I ask and I can see Sophie stiffen up. I don't wanna start another fight in front of Soph, she hates it.

"The trail for dad, it's getting colder every day" he says and Soph squeezes his arm and I can feel my blood getting hotter.

"Exactly, so what are we supposed to do"? I say through gritted teeth, trying to stay calm for Soph.

"I don't know. Something, anything" he says sighing loudly.

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find dad as much as you do"? I say, trying to keep my voice down.

"Yeah, I know you do, it's just...." he starts

"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay"? I say trying to sound authoritive. Sammy rolls his eyes and a pair of long legs catch my eye.

I can hear Sammy talking but God knows what he's saying, damn, those legs!

"Hey"! Sammy yells and Sophie giggles.

"Huh"? I ask. Sammy rolls his eyes and Sophie pulls out the map and looks at it hard.

"How far"? Sammy asks, Sophie wrinkles up her nose.

"Aaaaaaaabout 600 miles" she says and takes a sip off her coke.

"We'd best hit the road then" I say. Sophie shoves the map back in her duffel bag, Sammy throws a twenty on the table and we all leave the diner and climb into the car.

The car is suddenly filled with ringing and Sophie fishes around in her jeans pocket for her cell. I look up into the rear view mirror just in time to see her look down at the caller's id. She wrinkles up her nose and hesitates to answer.

"Hi Dan" she says and instantly my heart beat quickens, my grip on the steering wheel tightens making my knuckles go white.

I look up at Sophie in the mirror again, she's got a guilty look on her face and is chewing on her bottom lip. Whoever it is on the other end is chewing her ear off, I can hear the muffled yells from the front seat!

"I know, I know...." she says "....I should've told you, I'm sorry. It's just, it was an emergency and I just, didn't think" She says apologetically.

"Ummmmmm, I'm not sure where we're headed yet"

She's a terrible liar.

"Yeah, we, umm me Dean and Sammy" she says hesitantly and I can feel my blood start to boil inside me. Whoever this guy is, he's giving her a hard time and I really just wanna grab the cell and tell the guy where to go!

"Yeah, I've known them for like, forever. Really Andy, it's fine" she says glancing up into the rear view mirror at me but then quickly looks away.

Sam looks over at me with a who's-that kinda look and I just shrug, trying to keep my eyes on the road.

"Okay, I'll call you later" she says and hangs up, throwing the cell down on the backseat.

The Impala's silent for a little while.

"So, who was that" Sam asks and I roll my eyes.

"Oh, um, that was Dan. We're kinda seeing each other I guess" she says quietly and my heart is thumping out of my chest.

"Any you didn't tell him you were going on a road trip"? Sam asks, hanging over the back seat to look at her.

"Not exactly...." she says "....I mean, you know I' a terrible liar. I figured if I just didn't say anything then I wouldn't be lying to him, so I kinda just took off and didn't tell him" she says quietly.

Sam's looking at her like she's crazy.

"Does he know, you know about why you took off" I ask hesitantly, looking up at her in the rear view mirror. She looks a little scared.

"No, I never told anyone" she says with a sigh and then her nose wrinkles and I can almost see the fire building in her eyes.

"I mean, I don't even know why I gotta tell him 'bout everythin' I do!? We're not even that serious so why the hell should I have to run this by him anyway"! she yents.

"Chill Soph...." Sam says smiling at her "....he's probably just worried 'bout you".

Gimme a break. He just wants to make sure she hasn't run off with another guy, he doesn't actually care 'bout her! If he did, he would've called before!

I take a deep breath and try and calm down.

"Yeah well, it's just stupid" she says and sinks into the backseat. Sam tries to hide his amusement.

"Anyway, tell me the story about this lake again Sammy" she says, changing the subject.


	26. Chapter 26

**I know you all love Sophie really, so here's another chapter from her POV. Please no suing. **

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 27

It's cold on the Carlton's porch and I can see the rain dripping off the roof.

God damn Danny, I could just kick his ass! How dare he tell me what I can and can't do! The phone call has put me in such a bad mood; it seems to have done the same to Dean. We haven't spoken two words to each other since we left the car.

The door opens to the small house.

"Will Carlton"? Dean asks the kid standing in the doorway.

"Yeah that's right" he says a bit defensively.

"I'm Agent Ford; this is Agent Hamill and Agent Dixon. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service" Dean says and I try to look normal.

"Yeah okay" the kid says and closes the door and we all walk down to the lake where his dad is sitting on a bench on the dock.

He looks so sad.

"She was about 100 yards out. That's where she got dragged down" Will says with a shaky voice and glassy eyes.

"Are you sure she didn't just drown"? Dean asks a bit harshly, he didn't mean it to come out like that, I know he didn't, he's just in a mood.

"Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub" Will says running his fingers through his hair.

"So no splashing? No signs of distress"? Sammy asks, putting on the puppy face.

"No, that's what I'm telling you" Will says sadly.

"Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape breach the surface"? Sammy asks. Okay Sammy, that didn't sound weird at all. Will looks up at me and I can feel my face getting hot, I give him an apologetic smile.

"No. Again, she was really far out there" Will says with a deep sigh.

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline"? Dean asks.

"No, never. Why? What do you thinks out there"? Will asks looking up in my direction and that, right there, that is why I don't get to ask the questions. Because the answers are all lies. I hold my breath.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do" Dean says quickly he looks over at me but sighs and starts heading back to the car and I want to follow him but something tells me he doesn't want my company and I try and ignore the breathless feeling in my chest.

"What about your father? Can we talk to him"? Sammy asks Will. Will looks over at his dad who hasn't stopped staring at the lake. My heart breaks a little for him.

"Look, if you don't mind, I mean.....he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot" Will says.

"We understand" I say and Sammy and me walk slowly back to the car. I look back over my shoulder and Will has gone to sit next to his dad and I swallow the lump in my throat.

"So what's up with you and Dean" Sammy asks and my heart thuds painfully in my chest and my eyes feel like they're popping out of my head. Oh god, he doesn't know how I feel does he!? Oh God he does!

"What d'ya mean"? I ask trying not to choke on the words and I push my hair behind my ears.

"You've not spoken two words to each other since we got here...." he starts and I can breathe again, he doesn't know "....is there some weird secret argument going on that I don't know about"? He asks, looking up at me with those puppy dog eyes. God damn you Sammy!

"I don't know, guess we're just both in a mood today" I say quietly.

"And does your mood have anything to do with that phone call this morning by any chance"? He asks.

Got it in one Sammy boy.

I shrug and stuff my hands in my pockets.

Sammy smiles down at me and throws his arm round my shoulders, making me smile a little.

"Cheer up kiddo" he says and pulls me toward the car.

---- ---- ---- ----

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning"? The Sheriff asks and I keep my mouth tightly shut.

"You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister" Sammy says.

"Like what"? The Sheriff asks walking into his office, we follow. Sammy sits in the first chair and Dean stands behind him so I sit in the last chair.

"There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster" The Sheriff says, amusement clear in his voice.

"Yeah....right" Dean says with a forced laugh.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep just to be sure, and there was nothing down there" The Sheriff says seriously.

"That's weird though I mean that's....that's the third missing body this year" Dean says and I steal a look at him and I wish I hadn't. He's looking at me weirdly, and not in a good weird way.

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about" The Sheriff says sadly.

"I know" Dean says, looking back over at him.

"Anyway...." The Sheriff says with a sigh "....All this, it won't be a problem much longer".

"What do you mean"? Dean asks and I have a horrible feeling we should've done some town research before we walked in to the Sheriff's office.

"Well the dam, of course" The Sherriff says looking at Dean with a _duh_ look in his face. I knew it, should've looked up the local papers.

"Of course...the dam. It's uh...sprung a leak" Dean guesses and I try and hide my wince. Why say anything, jeez Dean!

"It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that" The Sheriff says suspiciously.

Okay, time to leave.

"Exactly" Dean says.

There's a tap on the door and I turn round, a pretty lady is stood in the doorway.

"Sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back later" she says looking up at Dean, Sammy and me.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter" The Sheriff says.

"It's a pleasure to meet you..." Dean says, holding out his hand "...I'm Dean".

She shakes his hand and I can see Dean's eyes light up and I can feel the stabbing in my chest return.

"Andrea Bar. Hi" The lady says.

"Hi" Dean says smiling one of _those_ smiles at her and it's like my heart is being ripped from my chest.

"They're from the Wildlife Service about the lake" The Sheriff explains.

"Oh" Andrea says and a little boy walks round to stand next to her.

"Oh hey there. What's your name"? Dean asks the kid but he just walks away without a word. He looks sad. Andrea smiles apologetically at Dean and goes after the kid.

"His name's Lucas" The Sheriff says sadly.

"Is he okay"? Sammy asks genuine concern in his tone.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have..." The Sheriff says sadly "...Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know". We all head out to the exit, where Andrea and Lucas are.

"Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced hotel" Dean asks.

"Lakefront motel, go around the corner, it's about two blocks south" Andrea says with a friendly smile. Dean smiles one of his smiles at her; she just walked right into that one.

"Two...Would you mind showing us"? Dean asks.

My God, Dean is actually trying to pick her up in front of her dad!!!! Andrea just laughs.

"You want me to walk you two blocks"? She asks.

"Not if it's any trouble" Dean says. She won't say no, no one can say no to Dean.

"I'm headed that way anyway" she says.

"I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three" she says to The Sheriff and turns to Lucas

"We'll go to the park, okay sweetie"? She says, kissing him on the head.

"Thanks again" Sammy says over his shoulder to The Sheriff.

The rain's stopped and the sun beats down warmly on my back as we follow Andrea to the motel.

"So...cute kid" Dean says and I roll my eyes.

"Thanks" Andrea says smiling up at Dean and I suddenly have the urge to put a dent in her pretty face but I try and squash that feeling.

"Kids are the best, huh"? Dean says and I try and cover up my laugh with a cough and I can see Sammy smirking. Andrea ignores him.

"There it is. Like I said. Two blocks" she says pointing up at the white building we've stopped in front of.

"Thanks" Sammy says.

"Must be hard with your sense of direction. Never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line". Andrea says to Dean and I really can't hide my laugh this time but I quickly shut my mouth cos the look Dean throws me is murderous.

"Enjoy your stay"! She says and walks away.

"Kids are the best"? You don't even like kids" Sammy says smirking up at Dean.

"I love kids" Dean says.

"Name three children that you even know" Sammy says and Dean is silent.

Mmmhmm.

"Exactly" Sammy says and nods his head in the direction of the reception, I follow him.

"I'm thinking"! Dean yells and follows us in.

"One family room please" Sammy says to the lady behind the reception desk.

"Sure thing honey" she says and pushes the checking in book over to him and goes to get the room key. Sammy checks the name on the credit card Dean threw down in the desk and checks us in using the same name.

"There you go number 9" she says and takes the credit card and hands Sammy the room key.

We walk up the stairs and my phone rings loudly in my pocket and I already know who it is before I look at the caller id. Danny.

I let it ring.

Dean lets out an angry sigh.

"You gonna get that" he asks sharply. I hate it when Dean's mad at me, I don't even know why he's mad this time!

"Nope" I say and storm up the stairs, past him and Sammy.

I find room 9 and lean against the door frame. What the hell is wrong with me! I just need to call him back and, I don't know, explain I guess. I just, I really, really don't wanna do it with Dean and Sammy here.

Dean and Sammy walk up the stairs and Sammy unlocks the door, holding it open for me. I walk in and stand at the end of one of the beds and just fall forward, bouncing face forward onto the bed, I can hear Sammy chuckle.

I roll over and sigh heavily. Sammy boots up his laptop at the table and Dean sits opposite.

My phone rings again.

"For Christ's sake" I say under my breath, Dean shifts in his seat.

"I'll um, go get the bags" I say walking out the room, picking up the car keys from the table on my way out.

"Hello" I say answering my cell, walking down the hall.

I already know who it is.

"Hey baby, why didn't you answer when I called earlier" Danny asks and I cringe. I suppose he can't see me so he won't be able to tell I'm lying.

"Oh, sorry Danny, I was in the middle of something'" I say, not a lie exactly.

"Oh..." he says "...Look I'm sorry about earlier" he says apologetically.

"So, where are you baby? I miss you" he says and I feel the sharp stab of guilt in my chest.

I lean against the hood of the car and run my hands through my hair.

"I miss you too" I say, hoping if I say it out loud it will somehow make it true. But it doesn't.

"So, how come you just took off baby"? he asks and I can feel my throat closing up.

"I uh, Dean, he uh, he needs my help. Sort of a family emergency. I hadn't seen him in like 7 years and I guess it just slipped my mind to tell people where I was going" I say lamely. The line is silent for a while.

"So these Winchester guys..." he starts

"Look Danny, really you have nothing to worry about okay. There's nothin' goin' on between me and Dean or Sammy. I haven't run away with them or anythin'" I say, cutting him off and I can hear him sigh heavily and my heart beats painfully fast and my face is burning.

Liar.

"Okay..." he says unconvinced "...so where are you"?

"Ummm, not sure really. We just checked into a motel. Listen Danny, I'm really tied; we've been driving for like, forever. Do you mind if I call you tomorrow"? I ask and I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Sure thing baby" he says.

"Okay, bye Danny" I say and hang up, letting out a long, painful breath.

Okay Soph, suck it up. He can't know who you are, what you do.

I fish the car keys out of my jeans pocket and turn round, walking straight into Dean. My heart leaps into my throat.

"Jeez Dean..." I yell, holding my chest over my heart "...you scared the crap outta me"

"Sorry..." he says "...you were gone a while, thought you were having trouble with the bags"

"Mmmhmm..." I say, he's got that look on his face, like he's heard something he didn't want to "...Danny's worried is all".

"Yeah, 'bout that Soph, look, I didn't know you had, I wouldn't've asked you to come if I knew..." he says awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, nothin' would've stopped me coming with you. I wanna find John too y'know". I say looking up at him, trying to breathe normally.

"Yeah, well. If you want me to drop you back home or anythin'..." he starts, not looking at me.

"No. I don't wanna go home, I wanna stay with you..." I say "...and Sammy" I add on the end quickly. "Unless, y'know, you don't want me hangin' round" I ask my heart racing.

Dean looks up at me with one of those smiles.

"Hey, we just got you back. Not gonna let you go that easy" he says and I can feel the wide smile on my face.

"Okay, enough of the mush" he says and walks round the back of the car and I throw him the keys. Opening the trunk he grabs the bags, handing me Sammy's and we walk back to the motel, his arm slung round my shoulders and I have a horrible feeling this is gonna get messy.

"So, this Danny guy..." Dean starts "...is he hot"? he asks and I roll my eyes at him but I can't hide the smile on my face.

"Shut up" I say, swatting him on the arm as I open the door.

Sammy smiles up at me as I drop his bag and sit next to him on the bed.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year" Sammy says

"Any before that"? Dean asks, dropping my bag on my bed.

"Uh yeah...six more spread out over the past 35 years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace" he says flicking through different web pages.

"So what, we got a lake monster on a binge"? Dean says and a small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth.

"This whole lake monster thing...It, it just bugs me" Sammy says getting up off the bed and walking to the kitchenette.

"Why"? I ask

"Loch Ness, Lake Champlain...There are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it" he says, pouring some coffee into three mugs.

Dean comes over and sits next to me making my head feel fuzzy with Dean smell.

"Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar. Where have I heard that name before"? Dean asks pointing at the webpage on Sammy's laptop. Sammy walks over and hands me and Dean a coffee.

"Christopher Bar, the victim in May" I read from the screen and I can feel recognition hit.

"Ooooh...Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband, Lucas' father..." I say "...looks like he took Lucas out swimming and Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. It was two hours before Lucas got rescued" I say, reading the article on the screen.

"Maybe we have an eyewitness after all" Sammy says.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over" Dean says and I can feel my heart breaking into a million pieces. I just wanna wrap my arms round him and tell him it will be okay but he wouldn't appreciate it.

No chick flick moments.


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry it's been a while guys, I'm working on it I promise but I have a cold and I'm feeling very sorry for myself. Anyway, hope to gave this episode done this weeekend so watch this space! As always, please don't sue I don't anything apart from snot rags!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 28

"Can we join you"? Sam asks Andrea with a smile. I don't think he even knows he even does that, the puppy dog look. God, if I had that look down I'd get away with murder!

"I'm here with my son" Andrea says, looking back up at me.

Perfect.

"Oh...Mind if I say hi"? I ask, not waiting for an answer and walk over to Lucas leaving Sam and Soph to talk to Andrea.

Lucas is coloring on a bench and I can't help the apprehension I feel as I walk up to him. Get a grip Dean, he's just a kid!

"How's it goin"? I ask, kneeling down in front of him. Oooh, toy soldiers.

"Oh I used to love these things" I say, picking one up, playing with it but Lucas is obviously un-impressed and just keeps coloring.

Okay, new plan.

"So crayons are more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists" I say, sitting on the bench, picking up a few of the drawings. Black swirl, red bike, another red bike.

"Hey these are pretty good. You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while"? I ask picking up a crayon and a piece of paper.

"I'm not so bad myself" I say cockily.

Okay, here goes.

"You know, I'm thinking you can hear me; you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something. Anyway...Well maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or uh...or believe you. I want you to know that I will. You don't even have to say anything; you could draw me a picture about what you saw that day with your dad on the lake. Okay, no problem. This is for you..." I say handing him my crappy ass drawing.

"This is my family..." I say, pointing each stick figure out to Lucas.

"That's my dad. That's my mom. That's my geek brother. That's Sophie and that's me"

Nothin'.

"All right, so I'm a sucky artist. I'll see you around, Lucas". I say, leaving the picture and walking back over to Andrea, Sam and Soph.

Well that was about as useful as screen door on a submarine.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident" Andrea says with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah we heard, I'm so sorry Andrea" Sophie says with glassy eyes and my chest suddenly feels tight and I take a deep breath, trying to clear the suffocating feeling.

"What are the doctors saying"? Sam asks, puppy dog eyes at the ready.

"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress" Andrea says, unconvinced.

"That can't be easy, for either of you" Sam says and Andrea shrugs.

"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..." she trails off and I can see Sophie fidget next to her.

"Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with" I say, from experience.

"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish..." she finishes quickly

"Hey sweetie" she says, resting a hand on Lucas' head.

Lucas hands me a picture, not looking up.

"Thanks...Thanks Lucas" I say and he walks back to the bench.

"Well, we'd better be going. Thanks for your time Andrea" Sam says smiling.

"Sure, anything to help" she says and the three of us head back to the car.

I hold the door open for Sophie and she climbs into the backseat and I pull the seat back, sitting in the driver's seat.

"Okay..." Sophie starts "...before we do anything else, I gotta eat. I'm like, dying of starvation" she whines and I can't stop the laugh from forcing it's way out of me.

I pull out, heading back to the motel. There was a diner close by.

---- ---- ---- ----

"Can I have a cheeseburger, fries and a strawberry milkshake please"? Sophie asks the waitress at the diner.

"Sure thing sweetie. Anythin' for you two gentleman"? She asks

"Ummmm, hamburger and a coke please" Sammy says smiling up at the lady as she jots his order on her pad.

"And you honey"? She asks me but Sophie and Sam are jerking around and I can't concentrate.

"Uh, no. No thanks" I say, she nods and heads back to the kitchen.

Sam and Soph haven't stopped goofing around since we got here and I can see Sam run his hands up the inside of her t-shirt and tickle her waist, she squeals loudly and I can barely see straight. My fists ball up tightly at my sides and my blood boils under my skin.

"Knock it off you two" I snap and the look on Soph's face instantly makes me feel guilty.

"Sorry" she says quietly, sitting up straight, fiddling with the paper napkin.

"Dude, chill" Sam says and I know he's right. What the hell is wrong with me!!?! They always goof around, that's just the way they are when they both get in that stupid girly mood. I just need to chill out, relax Dean.

"Sorry..." I say quickly "...I got a headache comin' is all" I lie and Soph looks up at me, concern practically radiating off of her.

"I got Tylenol in my bag if you wan'it" she says but I shake my head.

"So, you get anythin' from Lucas" Sam asks and I let out a small sigh, hopefully talking about the job will take my mind of my freak out.

"No, nothin'" I say.

"Poor Lucas..." Soph says looking down at the table.

"One cheeseburger and one hamburger" the lady says setting the plates in front of Soph and Sam. I didn't even see her walk up to the table.

"Thanks" Sophie and Sam say in unison as the lady walks back to the counnter and I roll my eyes at them.

Sophie blows bubbles in her milkshake and it explodes out of the glass covering them both in pink milkshake and I laugh so hard I might pee.

"Ooooookay..." Sophie says licking the milkshake off her fingers "...wasn't expecting that" she slips out of the booth and heads to the ladies.

"Dude, you two are such freaks" I say throwing a napkin at his face. Sam just smiles sheepishly and wipes the milkshake off his face.

"Y'know, I never realized just how much I missed this" Sam says

"Hmmm"? I say, stealing a few of Sophie's fries.

"You, me, Sophie..." he says trailing off.

Yeah, right. He's hasn't been able to keep his eyes off Sophie since we picked him up!

Chill Dean, it's just Sammy.

---- ---- ---- ---

The hypnotic sound of the shower is making me feel drowsy and the lavender smell seeping under the bathroom door isn't helping either, I try and concentrate on the webpage on Sammy's laptop and try very hard not to think of the fact that Sophie's in the shower.

The front door opens, making me jump.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie" Sammy says kicking the door closed.

Thank God! A distraction!

"What do you mean"? I ask, rubbing my eyes.

"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there, Will Carlton is dead" he says, sitting down on the end of Sophie's bed.

"He drowned"? I ask as another waft of lavender fuzzes up my head.

"Yep, in the sink" He says.

The sink!

"What the hell? So you're right, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else" I say trying my best to concentrate.

"Yeah, but what"? Sam asks scratching the back of his head.

"I don't know..." I say, wracking my brain "...A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source" I say.

"The lake" Sam says.

"Yeah" I agree.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count? The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time" Sam says quickly.

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon" I say, panic gripping my chest in painful stabs.

Sophie.

I quickly get up and I have to stop myself from running to the bathroom door. I knock loudly and I can hear Sophie's mumbled humming over the noise of the shower.

"Soph', c'mon we got a lead, we gotta go" I yell

"Okay, be right out" she yells back and I can hear the water turn off and I can breathe again.

"We do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton" Sam says packing up a bag.

"Yeah, it took both his kids" I say, leaning against the door frame.

"And I've been asking around, Lucas' dad Chris. Bill Carlton's Godson" he says raising an eyebrow.

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit" I say just as Sophie opens the bathroom door releasing steamy lavender and orange scents into the room and straight into my brain making me forget how to breathe.

Oh c'mon!


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys, so this one is quite a long chapter so sorry for the wait. Working on the final chapter of this episode now. Please no suing**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 30

I knew this was gonna end badly.

"Sam, Dean, Sophie, I didn't expect to see you here" Andrea says as we walk through the door of the Sheriff's office. I feel like I'm back at high school, being sent to the principal's office. Not that that happened very often...

"So now you're on a first-name basis"? The sheriff asks accusingly and Andrea looks at him like he's going crazy.

"What are you doing here"? He asks her.

"I brought you dinner" she says handing him a brown paper bag.

I look up at Dean knowing he'd know what I'm thinking. Escape? But he shakes his head and I sigh, looking down at the floor.

"I'm sorry sweetheart; I don't really have the time" he says looking over at us.

"I heard about Bill Carlton, is it true? Is something going on with the lake"? She asks, panic in her voice.

"Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home" he says but Lucas grabs Dean's arm and pulls on it desperately.

"Lucas, hey, what is it"? Dean asks

"Lucas"? Andrea asks walking over to him, whatever's gotten into him, he does not want to go home but Andrea leads him out and a sinking feeling washes over me.

"Okay, just so I'm clear, you see...something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer, by the way, into the lake, and you never see him again" The sheriff says and I can feel my cheeks burn up.

"Yeah, that about sums it up" Dean says sitting down in the chair opposite the desk, Sam sits in the other one.

"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake, and what you're describing is impossible, and you're not really Wildlife Service"? He says

Crap, crap and double crap.

"That's right, I checked. The department's never heard of you" The Sheriff says.

"See, now we can explain that..." Dean starts.

"Enough please. The only reason you're breathing free air, is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again" The Sheriff says seriously.

"Door number two sounds good" Sammy says quickly.

"That's the one I'd pick" The Sheriff says and he escorts us out of the building.

It got dark quickly.

We all climb into the Impala and Dean starts the engine, heading back to the motel.

"Grab the bags, I'll check us out" Dean says as he pulls into the parking lot of the motel. He's in a bad mood.

Unlocking the door me and Sammy pack up, stuffing everything into different bags quickly.

"Ready" Dean says gloomily, leaning against the door frame. My heart skips a beat. He looks so amazing in the moonlight!

"Yeah" Sammy says and we all head back out to the car. It's a mistake to leave, I can feel it but we've overstayed our welcome so what else can we do without getting arrested? And I can't get arrested, I mean, the boys can talk their way out of it bit me...I'd be doing time for sure!

Dean isn't paying attention to the lights.

"Green" Sam says.

"What"? Dean says looking over at him.

"Light's green" he says and Dean nods, turning left. Not the way we want to go...

"Um, the interstate's the other way Dean" I say, leaning forward.

"I know" Dean says.

"But Dean, this job...I think it's over" Sammy says

"I'm not so sure" Dean says eyes on the road.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest" Sammy says

"All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done. You know, what if we missed something? What if more people get hurt"? Dean says, accelerating a little.

"But why would you think that"? Sammy asks looking up at Dean like he's a crazy.

"Because Lucas was really scared" Dean yells and my heart breaks. This case is a little too close to home for Dean, he won't leave without KNOWING it's over.

"That's what this is about"? Sammy asks in disbelief.

"Sammy" I warn but neither of them pays any attention.

"I just don't want to leave town till I know the kid's okay" Dean says. Sammy laughs.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother"? Sammy says smiling.

"Shut up" Dean says and he looks up at me in the rear view mirror and I smile encouragingly at him.

---- ----- ---- ----

We pull up outside of Andrea's and Dean cuts off the engine.

"Are you sure about this? It's pretty late man" Sammy says looking up at the white house across the road.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Dean says and Sammy sighs. We all get out of the car and walk up the front of the house.

The front door flies open just as Dean reaches for the doorbell and my heart is in my throat. Lucas stands in the doorway absolutely terrified.

"Lucas!? Lucas"?! Dean yells as Lucas runs inside the house and up the stairs.

"Lucas"! I yell and I can hear banging at the top of the stairs. We all run upstairs and there is water pouring from underneath the bathroom door.

Andrea!

"Stay with Sophie" Dean says pushing him over to me and I kneel down, wrapping, my arms round the kid. He's shaking so hard it's making me shake too.

"It's okay baby, it will be okay" I say turning him in my arms so he can't see what's going on in the bathroom.

Dean kicks the door down and I can feel Lucas struggle to break free.

"Lucas, Dean won't let anything happen to your Mom okay" I say looking into his eyes and he wraps his arms round me and squeezes tight and I hold him close.

I can hear Andrea's chocked screams, lots and lots of splashing and Dean and Sam yelling and then, quiet. My heart is racing and I stand up, picking Lucas up in my arms and walk to the bathroom.

Andrea is led over Dean and Sam on the bathroom floor, murky brown water is everywhere. Andrea coughs up the water in her lungs and Sam wraps her in a towel.

I release a long breath.

"Hey, it's okay baby. Your mom's fine" I say and Lucas turns his head to look down at Andrea.

Dean looks up at me and then at Lucas with a weird expression on his face but I can't even start to try and decipher it's meaning. I set Lucas down on the floor and he runs over to Andrea, throwing his arms round her.

---- ---- ---- ----

Sitting down at the kitchen table I hand Andrea a cup of sugary tea. She takes it with a small smile.

"Can you tell me"? Sam asks Andrea and I sit next to her at the table.

"No. It doesn't make any sense..." she says, starting to cry "...I'm going crazy"

"No, you're not" I say

"Tell me what happened, everything" Sam says sweetly.

"I heard...I thought I heard...there was this voice" she says shakily and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"What did it say"? I ask quietly, she takes a deep breath before answering.

"It said...it said "Come play with me." What's happening"? She says panicked.

Dean walks over and places a photo album on the table in front of Andrea.

"Do you recognize the kids in these pictures"? He asks

"What? Um…Um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about 12 in these pictures" she says pointing to her dad. He's standing right next to Peter Sweeney.

"Chris Bar's drowning, the connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the Sheriff" Dean says.

Okay Dean, jeez not in front of his daughter!

"Maybe we should talk about this in the car"? I ask but he ignores me.

"Bill and the Sheriff, they were both involved with Peter" Sam says

"What about Chris? My dad, what are you talking about"? Andrea asks and I shake my head. He can be really insensitive sometimes! Turning round I notice Lucas looking out the window at something.

"Lucas? Lucas, what is it"? I ask and he opens the door and walks out.

We all follow him out.

"Lucas, honey"? Andrea says as Lucas stops at the edge of their garden and looks pointedly at the ground, then up at Dean.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay"? Dean says and I know what he's thinking.

Andrea pulls Lucas back to the house and Sammy heads back to the car leaving me and Dean alone in the breaking dawn.

Breathe Soph.

"Lucky we came back huh"? I say and Dean looks up at me with a smile.

"I've been hunting long enough to trust my instincts" he says

"Y'know Dean, you know we're gonna find the thing that killed your mom right" I say and his mood changes.

"Not you too" he says and I open my mouth to ask what he means but Sammy comes running back with three shovels.

Great. I hate this part.

Sammy hands me and Dean a shovel each and we start digging. It's not long before we hit something hard and we all look at each other. It's like finding treasure, only really creepy dead people treasure...

Sammy and Dean dig the rest up with their hands and Dean pulls out the handles of a red bike and I swallow the lump in my throat, poor Peter.

"Peter's bike Sammy says standing up.

"Who are you"?

Turing round quickly I see the Sheriff looking furious, aiming a gun right at my chest.

My heart races and I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins and I can feel my feet push further into the loose ground, preparing to launch myself at the guy even though I know the sensible thing to do would be prepare to run away. My instincts always were backwards.

"Put the gun down, Jake" Sammy says looking at the gun, then at me and then back to the gun again. But the Sheriff ignores him.

"How did you know that was there"? has asks looking down quickly at the bike.

"What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried" Dean says angrily, not taking his eyes off of the Sheriff.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Andrea and Jake walk up to us.

"Go to your room, sweetie. Now. Lock the door and wait for me. Don't come out" Andrea says and Lucas runs back to the house.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about" The Sheriff says to Andrea, not taking his eyes off of us, still aiming the gun at my chest. I can see Dean fidget next to me and I pray he's not planning on doing something stupid.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about" Dean says angrily.

"Dad"! Andrea yells.

"And now you got one seriously pissed off spirit" Dean says. The sheriff looks over at Andrea for a second.

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does" Sammy says looking at the Sheriff with those puppy dog eyes.

I hope that's enough, I really don't like him pointing a gun at me.

"Yeah, and how do you know that"? the Sheriff asks, panicked.

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton" Sammy yells at him.

"Listen to yourselves, both of you. You're insane" the Sheriff says cocking the gun and my heart leaps into my throat and I look over at Dean.

Don't you let him kill me!

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake" Dean asks, trying the honesty is the best policy plan. It seems to of worked, the Sherriff lowers the gun a little.

"Dad, is any of this true"? Andrea chokes out

"No. Don't listen to them, they're liars and they're dangerous" The Sheriff yells and aims the gun at my head this time and all I can think of is how much I don't want to die, how I'm supposed to live happily ever after, picket fence and everythin' and how I never told Dean that I love him.

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me..." she yells"...Tell me you, you didn't kill anyone"! The Sheriff looks over at her with glassy eyes and sighs heavily

"Oh my God" Andrea whispers as she realizes her Dad is a murderer.

"Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough. We were holding his head under the water, we didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank. Oh Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost...it's not rational" The Sheriff says lowering the gun a little.

"All right listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now"! Dean says and the Sheriff lowers the gun completely.

Andrea gasps loudly and we all look over to where she's looking.

Lucas!

"Lucas"! The Sheriff yells after him and we all take off toward the lake, as we round on the dock I can see Lucas leaning into the lake.

"Lucas"! Dean yells out to him.

"Lucas! Baby stay where you are"! Andrea yells.

I can see something grab Lucas and pull him off of the dock and into the water and I can feel my heart stop but my legs push me forward faster and faster until I run out of dock and I dive straight into the creepy haunted lake.

I can hear two more splashes and I figure Dean and Sammy have dived in too.

"Andrea, stay there"! Sammy yells from the surface of the water and I dive down into the clear water, swimming down trying to find Lucas. I swim down as far as I can until my lungs start to ache and I break the surface and gasp for air. Dean and Sammy are swimming around too.

We both shake our heads at Dean and I dive back down. I will NOT let Lucas drown.

It's not long before I can feel my lungs burning and my vision starts to get blurry but I refuse to go back up for air yet.

I reach out my hands and I hit something warm, I grab at it and I realize its Lucas' wrist and I can feel my heart punch against my ribs painfully. I pull Lucas close to me and kick my heavy legs as hard as I can. Looking up I can almost see the surface of the water. Just a little further Lucas and this will all be over!

I kick harder and my heart starts to slow down I kick one last time and I push my head out of the water and I gasp, breathing deeply but I think it's too late. I can feel myself get light headed and my body feels really heavy and I sink back into the water.

This is it.

I can feel myself getting cold, my lungs burning and then warm fingers curl round my wrist and I'm yanked back up to the surface and everything goes black...

...

"Sophie baby c'mon"...

...

"DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME SOPHIE JONES, DON'T YOU DARE"!...

...

My lungs feel like they're on fire and I can't breathe! I roll over onto my side and I cough heavily, water streams from my mouth and I gasp, breathing deeply.

"Thank God" I hear someone say but it's muffled, like they're speaking through a pillow.

I can feel warm arms wrap round me, pulling me into a warm chest. I breathe in deeply and my heart skips a beat.

Dean.

"Jeez Soph..." he says gruffly "...you scared the crap outta me".

I rest my heavy head against his shoulder and I can feel his body heat warm me to the bone. I'm so cold and I ache, everywhere.

"Sorry..." I say quietly "...Lucas, is he okay" I ask.

"Yeah baby, he's fine..." he says quietly, kissing the top of my head. He puts his forefinger under my chin and tilts my head up and looks straight into my eyes and I have trouble breathing, again.

"Don't ever do that to me again Sophie. Ever" he says and I feel like I'm drowning in his golden, green eyes and I can feel his sweet breath on my face, he's so close. His eyes leave mine and look down at my lips.....GOD!

He's gonna kiss me!

He leans in closer and my heart feels like it's gonna explode out of my chest.

No!

I can't let this happen, I can't let him know I love him! I just, I can't. It would ruin everything!

"Hey..." I whisper and he looks up at me, leaning back a little "...it's a dangerous gig"


	29. Chapter 29

**Here it is guys, last chapter of the episode. Sorry for the Sammy fans reading this, you didn't get much of him this episode did you...I'll try better, promise. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! (but no suing)**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 30

I help Sophie into the back of the Impala and she falls into the seat, closing her bloodshot eyes and I can feel my chest ache and I swallow the painful lump in my throat.

Closing the door as quietly as I can I look up at Sam.

"Look, we're not gonna save everybody" he says, referring to Andrea's dad. He drowned, I couldn't save him.

"I know" I say, shrugging. I look back into the back seat and Sophie's led down across the back seat.

"Hey, she'll be okay" Sammy says looking at Sophie and I can feel my chest ache again.

"Yeah, I know" I say and out of the corner of my eye I see Andrea and Lucas walk over.

"Sam, Dean" She says with a smile.

"Hey" I say

"We're glad we caught you. We just um, we made you lunch for the road..." she says looking down at Lucas "...Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself" she says smiling.

"Can I give it to them now"? Lucas asks and I can barely keep the surprise from showing on my face. Andrea smiles down at him and kisses his forehead.

"Of course" she says.

"Come on Lucas; let's load this into the car" I say leading him to the car. He hesitates as he sees Sophie lying in the back of the car.

"Hey honey, you doin' okay" Sophie asks, sitting up when she sees Lucas.

Lucas hesitates and then leans into the car and wraps his arms round her neck. Sophie's eyes get all glassy and she smiles up at me.

"Thank you for saving me" Lucas says and one small tear rolls down Sophie's cheek and I have an almost uncontrollable urge to wipe it away.

"Any time honey..." she says, hugging him. "...these look great, you make them yourself"? She asks taking the sandwiches from him and placing them in the seat next to her.

Lucas smiles and nods his head and before I can stop it I see this image of Sophie in my head and I feel like my heart is gonna explode outta my chest.

She's standing in the open doorway of a small white house with a cute front yard with a white picket fence round it. She's holding a little girl that looks exactly like her in her arms and a wide smile spreads across her face when a black Impala pulls into the driveway.

I quickly squash the image and bury it deep, deep down into the part of my brain that I keep hidden.

I swallow the lump in my throat and turn to Lucas.

"All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase..." I say "...Zepplin rules"!

"Zeppelin rules"! Lucas repeats and I out of the corner of my eye I can see Sophie smiling widely.

"That's right. Up high..." I say, and Lucas high five's me "...You take care of your mom, okay"? I say

"All right" he says and we head out back to Andrea and Sam and Andrea kisses me, right in the lips.

"Thank you..." she says "...and say thank you to Sophie for me" she says looking into the backseat where Sophie's fallen asleep. I nod.

"Sam, move your ass. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road" I say and Sam climbs into the passenger seat, closing the door quietly.

I start the engine and pull out of the gas station, very, very glad to be leaving this town.

The sun is starting to set and I have been trying to think of anything but Sophie and the happy family fantasy I dreamt up.

I look up into the rearview mirror, she's still sleeping.

She looks so pale and fragile and out of the corner of my eye I can see Sam looking at me suspiciously.


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey, sorry it's taken me a while to get this chapter up, it's not the strongeest chapter either but I'm sure you know what it's like when you try and get back into a story after a break.....promise it will get better though. Please don't sue me, I don't own anything.**

**Enjoy.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Chapter 30 Phantom Traveller

I slam the door closed and Dean jumps awake.

"Mornin', sunshine" I say cheerily. Dean grumbles and rubs his eyes.

"What time is it"? he asks sleepily and I look down at my watch.

"It's about 5:45" I say, placing the doughnuts and coffee on the table.

"In the morning"?! Dean asks

"Yep"

"Where does the day go"? Dean says sarcastically, sitting up. I rub my tired eyes.

"Did you get any sleep last night"? He asks.

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours" I lie.

"Liar. 'Cause I was up at three and you were watchin' the George Foreman infomercial" he says accusingly, I really don't want to be having this conversation right now. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for a million years!

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV" I say and Dean sighs heavily.

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep"? Dean asks and I can hear the protective older brother tone in his voice.

"I don't know. A little while, I guess. It's not a big deal" I lie, sighing but he isn't dropping it.

"Yeah, it is"

"Look, I appreciate your concern...." I start.

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, and Sophie's so I need you sharp" Dean says glancing over at a sleeping Sophie. I don't let myself or I just know I'm gonna start thinking things I SHOULD NOT be thinking so I just shrug.

"Seriously, are you still havin' nightmares about Jess"? He asks and I can instantly feel guilt grip the pit of my stomach.

"Yeah" I say with a sigh and I sit myself on the end of Sophie's bed and I can feel her wriggle under the covers and my heart beats faster in my chest. I hand Dean a cup of coffee.

"But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job.....man, it gets to you" I say heavily.

"Well, you can't let it. You can't bring it home like that" he says casually, still looking at Sophie.

"So, what? All this...it never keeps you up at night"? I ask in disbelief and Dean just shakes his head.

"Never? You're never afraid"? I ask

"No, not really" He says with a smile and sips his coffee. Like hell he's not afraid and I reach for the knife underneath his pillow.

"That's not fear. That is precaution" Dean says and grabs it back from me.

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue" I say, resting my head in my hands, letting my eyes close. Dean's cell rings and I can feel warm arms wrap round my waist and my heart beats out of my chest and my blood boils under my skin.

"Mornin' sugar" I say smiling at her, snaking my arm over her shoulders.

"Mornin'" she says sleepily, resting her head on my shoulder, tucking her long red bed head hair behind her ear.

"Did you sleep any better"? she asks, looking up at me underneath those thick black eyelashes and I can barely hear anything apart from my pulse in my ears.

"No" I manage to choke out as she rubs her hand in circles on my back.

Dean snaps his cell closed loudly.

"Get dressed" Dean orders and I can feel Sophie tense up, she slips off of the bed and heads to the bathroom.

"What's wrong" I ask.

"Jerry Panowski, me and Dad helped him out with a poltergeist problem a couple months ago, he needs our help" He says quickly, not looking at me.

"Okay" I say, I'm too tired and can't be bothered to argue and decipher what the hell is going on with Sophie".


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry it's taken so long to get going again. I've just moved out into my own place and of course, it doesn't have the internet so I have to upload at my mum's house. Anyway, I hope you like this cahpter. Please review, reviews make me happy : D but please don't sue me, it makes me sad : ( and I don't own anything anyway.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 31

"Thanks for makin' the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favour, not the other way around" Mr. Panowski says to Sammy "Dean and your dad really helped me out".

"Yeah, he told me. It was a poltergeist"? Sammy asks and I see a guy look over at us as we walk through a warehouse.

"Poltergeist"? Man, I loved that movie"! The guy says smiling widely at me and I can instantly feel the blush rise in my cheeks and I look down at my feet.

"Hey, nobody's talkin' to you. Keep walkin'" Mr. Panowski says and we do.

"Damn right, it was a poltergeist...practically tore our house apart" he says looking over at Dean but I don't look at him. Ever since Wisconsin there's been this weird.....tension between us and I don't like it at all but I don't know how to fix it!

"I'll tell you somethin'—if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive" Mr. Panowski says to Dean, making him smile proudly.

"Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right"? Mr. Panowski asks Sammy and I can almost see him wince.

"Yeah, I was. I'm….takin' some time off" Sammy says vaguely. I want to go over and hug him. I know he misses his old life, his friends, school, Jess....

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time" Mr. Panowski says and I can feel the smile spread across my face and I look up at Sammy and I can see the shock written all over his face. I feel like smacking him upside the head. Of course John was, is proud of him. He's his boy and he grew up and went to college and didn't turn out half bad, how could he not be proud of him!

"He did"? Sammy asks, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, you bet he did. Oh, hey, you know, I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway"? Mr. Panowski asks looking sideways at Dean and I can see him stiffen in his step and my heart aches for him.

"He's, um….he's wrapped up in a job right now". Dean says defensively.

"Well, we're missin' the old man, we get Sam. Even trade, huh"? Mr. Panowski laughs "Oh, and who is this little lady"?

"This is Sophie Jones, she's a family friend" Dean says and I can almost hear him underlining friend and I can feel a stab in my chest. I smile politely at Mr. Panowski and he smiles back. My eyes involuntarily glance up at Dean and I can feel my breath hitch in my throat, he's looking at me!!! I can feel my cheeks get hot and I quickly look down at the floor.

Get a grip Sophie.

Mr. Panowski ushers us into his office.

"I've got somethin' I want you guys to hear" he says sitting down behind his desk. He rummages around in one of his drawers and pulls out a CD player.

"I listened to this. Well, it sounded like it was up your alley. Normally, I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia Flight 2485. It was one of ours". He says and hits the play button. Normal airplane sounds emit from the speakers and then a hissing noise and I can feel a knot twist in my stomach, I don't have a good feeling about this job.

"Took off from here—crashed about two hundred miles south" Mr. Panowski says pointing to a map on the wall.

"Now, they're saying mechanical failure. The cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board—only seven got out alive. The pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh….well, he's pretty broken up about it—like it was his fault" Mr. Panowski says with a lump in his throat.

"You don't think it was"? Sammy asks and I can see his brain is working overtime and the knot twists up into my chest.

"No, I don't" Mr. Panowski says matter of factly.

"Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, a list of survivors...." Sammy says.

"Right, and any way we can take a look at the wreckage"? Dean asks and I can't help my eyebrows rising in surprise. Like hell we're gonna be able to look at that!

"The other stuff is no problem, but the wreckage....guys, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance" Mr. Panowski says and Dean shrugs it off.

"No problem" Dean says and I can practically see the plan forming in his head. If we get caught, no amount of fake 911 calls are gonna bust us out.

--- --- ---- ---

It's sunny and I can feel the warm sun warm my back as I lean against the hood of the Impala. I rest my head on Sammy's arm and he looks down at me and smiles, wrapping his arm round my waist and we wait in a happy silence.

Dean finally walks out.

"You've been in there forever" Sammy complains, tickling my side as he unwraps his arm from my waist, making me squirm.

"You can't rush perfection" Dean says holding up the two fake Ids with a mischievous grin and I can't stop my heat from beating painfully against my chest. He pockets one and hands the other one to me. I look at it in disbelief.

"You're taking me"? I ask looking up at him and I can barely breath. He's smiling that smile at me and I can feel my knees start to give out.

"Yeah, well, we might need a getaway driver and to be honest sweetheart Sammy is my first choice".

"Hey, I can drive the Impala perfectly well thank you" I say as Sammy swipes my Id.

"Homeland Security? That's pretty illegal, even for us" he says reading the Id.

"Yeah, well, it's somethin' new, you know? People haven't seen it a thousand times" Dean says and I climb into the back of the Impala I hold my breath as I slip past him.

"All right, so, what do you got"? Dean asks when we are all seated back in the car but I'm not really paying attention. I tried not to, I really did but I couldn't stop my eyes from flicking up to the rear view mirror and now they're stuck and I think my heart is actually bleeding it hurts so much.

"Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder" I hear Sammy say but it's all muffled, like he's speaking through a pillow.

"Yeah"? Dean says and suddenly my heart stops, he's looking straight back at me. Shit! He's not looking away! Shit! Neither am I!

"Listen" Sammy says and he plays the CD on his laptop, making Dean look back down. I let out a long breath and try and de-fuzz my head.

The CD plays and a creepy static voice says "No survivors" and a chill runs up my spine and I can feel the knot forming in my stomach again.

"No survivors"? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors" Dean says, confusion etched on his heartbreakingly handsome face.

"Got me" Sammy says, running his fingers through his hair.

"So, what are you thinkin'? A haunted flight"? Dean asks.

"There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travellers" Sammy says.

"Oooh, remember Flight 401"? I say, leaning forward resting my arms on the front seats.

"Right....the one that crashed, then the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and co-pilot haunted those flights" Dean says, turning in his seat.

"Right" Sammy says, smiling at me "Maybe we've got a similar deal"

I lean over the front seat and open the glove compartment, pulling out the list of passengers.

"All right, so, survivors...which one do you wanna talk to first"? I ask, leaning back looking over the list.

"Third on the list...Max Jaffey" Sammy says, pointing at the name on the list.

"Why him"? Dean asks

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did" Sammy says confidently.

"What makes you say that"? Dean asks

"Well, I spoke to his mother, and she told me where to find him" Sammy says. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and it makes me jump.

Danny.

I flip open my cell, not really wanting to.

"Hey Danny" I say and I can see Dean's eyes flick up to look at me in the rear view mirror, but he quickly looks away. He pulls out into the road a little more violently than necessary.

"Hey baby, how you doin'? Haven't heard from you in a while" Danny says down the line and I can feel my heart clench painfully.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. We stopped off in Wisconsin and things got a bit, umm, crazy". I say vaguely. Sammy looks round at me with a kind of "you're-kidding-crazy-doesn't-even-cover-it" look and I just narrow my eyes at him. He turns round, smiling and Dean lurches round a corner.

"You okay"? He asks and in the background I can hear...giggling?

"Yeah I'm fine. Are you with someone?" I ask before I can actually think about what I'm saying. Sammy turns round to look at me and I can feel the Impala lurch forward as Dean puts his foot to the floor.

"No baby, just me" I hear him say but I can still hear background noise.

"Okay" I say unconvinced.

"Okay baby, well just called to see how you are. I'll call you later okay" Danny says, distractedly.

"Okay, bye" I say and close my cell, shoving it back in my pocket and a wave of nervousness washes over me and I try and push it to the back of my mind.


	32. Chapter 32

**Well here it is, chapter 32, more Dean on the way........no suing please, I don't own anything!**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 32

"I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security" Max says as he limps in front of us.

"Right. Some new information has come up. So if you could just answer a couple questions…" I say and the three of us sit down at a garden table.

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything unusual"? Sam asks Max, way to get to the point Sam.

"Like what"? Max asks and the look on his face says he knows something.

"Strange lights, weird noises, maybe….voices"? I ask and Max looks at me like I should be in this place.

"No, nothing" Max says.

Liar.

"Hmm. Mr. Joffey....." I start

"Jaffey" Max corrects me and I feel like smashing his head into the table.

Chill Dean.

"Jaffey. You checked yourself in here, right"? I say and Max nods "Can I ask why"?

"I was a little stressed. I survived a plane crash" He says like it was obvious which isn't giving him any brownie points.

"Uh-huh. And that's what terrified you? That's what you were afraid of"? I ask

"I...I don't wanna talk about this anymore" Max says, crossing his arms across his chest.

"See, I think maybe you _did_ see somethin' up there. We need to know what" I say just wanting to get through this bullshit.

"No. No, I was delusional...seeing things" Max says. Finally, we're getting somewhere.

"He was seeing things" I say to Sam, who just shrugs.

"It's okay. Then just tell us what you _thought_ you saw, please" Sam says, pulling out the puppy dog eyes. Max hesitates.

"There was….this….man. And, uh, he had these….eyes, these, uh…._black_ eyes. And I saw him—or I _thought_ I saw him…" Max trails off

"What"? I say a little impatiently.

"He opened the emergency exit. But that's….that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's somethin' like two tons of pressure on that door" Max says in disbelief.

"This man, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It wouldn't look something like a mirage"? Sam asks with the full on puppy stare.

"What are you, nuts? He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me" Max says and I look over at Sam and I know he's thinking the same thing.

"Okay, thank you for your time Mr. Jaffey" Sam says and as we leave the crazy house all I can think of is getting back to the motel......and Sophie but I don't want to see her at the same time which is giving me a headache.

I half wish I never even picked her up, but that's a complete lie. The thought of her not being here with me, with us, I mean, I can't even think about it and the other week in Wisconsin when she almost....almost...ENOUGH. That situation is never, EVER going to happen again. I won't let it.

God, she's driving me CRAZY!

"Dude"! Sammy yells at me but I just glare at him.

--- --- --- ---

"Here we are. George Phelps, seat 20C" Sammy says looking at the passenger list.

"Hmm. Man, I don't care how strong you are...." I start, getting out of the car "....Even yoked up on PCP or somethin', no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight".

"Not if you're human. But maybe this guy, George, was somethin' else...a creature maybe, in human form"? Sammy suggests, checking his cell. He's been doing that all morning and I know exactly who he wants a call from and it's making my blood boil. I take a deep breath and point up to the house.

"That look like a creature's lair to you"? I ask, not expecting an answer. We start to walk up to the Phelps' house when Sam's cell rings and I can feel my heart beat double time in my chest.

Get a grip Dean, for Christ's sake!

Sam flips open his cell and smirks at the message, quickly replying and I suddenly have an overwhelming urge to smash his cell into the ground! I knock on the front door, a little too forcefully and Sam stuffs his cell back in his pocket.

A puffy eyed woman opens the door with a shy smile.

"Mrs. Phelps"? Sam asks quietly and the woman nods

"Can I help you" she asks and

--- --- --- ---

"This is your late husband"? Sam asks picking up a photo of a guy from the side table. Mrs. Phelps nods.

"Yes, that was my George" she says sadly.

"And you said he was a….dentist"? I ask "Mm-hmm. He was headed to a convention in Denver. Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that…" she says, trailing off trying to hold back the tears.

"How long were you married"? Sam asks, pulling out the puppy dog eyes and the image of Sophie outside of a house in the suburbs flashes across my brain but I push it way, way back to the back.....again.

"Thirteen years" she says. Thirteen, lucky for some.....but in this case, I guess not....

"In all that time, did you ever notice anything….strange about him...anything out of the ordinary"? Sam asks and I notice Mrs. Phelps looks a bit confused, I'm not holding out much hope for this visit. I mean, even if Phelps was a freak, she's not exactly gonna come out and say it to total strangers!

"Well….uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean" she says and I can barely hide my smirk. I look over at Sam and I know he's thinking exactly the same thing.

"Well, thank you for your time Mrs. Phelps" Sam says, standing and shaking her hand. I stand as well, shaking her hand after Sam and follow him out of the house.

"I mean, it goes without saying. It just doesn't make any sense" Sam says as we walk back to the car.

"Yeah, a middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified...." I say and then I get an idea "....You know, what we need to do is get inside that NTSB warehouse, check out the wreckage".

"Okay. But if we're gonna go that route, we better look the part" Sam says, getting into the car.

"Dude, I already told you. I'm taking Sophie; you're the getaway driver...." I say "...y'know....just in case"

"Yeah yeah" Sam says as I start the engine and head back to the motel, back to Sophie.

--- --- --- ---

Sam's yammering on about something but I'm not really paying attention. All I can think about is Sophie's call with Danny earlier. Uuugh, when I think about him with her, him kissing her.......I've never wanted to hurt someone so much in my entire life...and that's saying something!

Sam unlocks the door and we walk in. Soph' is led on the bed reading, she looks up at us with a huge smile. The neck of her sweater has fallen showing her pale shoulder and I can feel my blood throbbing in my veins. I look at the floor and Sammy goes to sit next to her.

"Wanna go shopping" Sam asks her and her smile becomes mega watt.

"Hell yeah" she says and climbs off the bed, shoving on her beaten up sneakers.

"Ready" she says, excitement written all over her face and I roll my eyes, ignoring the gymnastics my heart is doing in my chest.


	33. Chapter 33

**I know this one's been a long tme in the making but here it is......finally! More to follow very soon, I promise. Reviews are ALWAYS good, even if they're bad :D . I don't own anything so please don't sue me!**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 33

"C'mon Soph', you've been in there for like, ever"! I yell into the changing room.

I tug at the uncomfortable tie around my neck. I'm not used to wearing a suit and I don't like it! But if it means we're gonna get a lead on the case, I guess I gotta suck it up.

I catch a look at myself in a mirror and I cringe.

"Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers" I complain, pulling at my tie again.

"No, you don't. You look more like a seventh grader at his first dance" Sammy says, scuffing his sneakers on the grubby carpet of the changing room of this God forsaken shop.

"I hate this thing" I grumble.

"Hey, you want into that warehouse or not"? He says, looking up at me. I just shrug, totally uncomfortable in the damn suit.

"Well I think you look very handsome"... Soph' says coming out from behind the curtain and I try and hide my smile.

"Right, she's not going Dean" Sammy pipes up "the whole point is that you're supposed to be forgettable, and I don't think anyone is gonna be forgetting Soph in a hurry" he says absolutely serious and I can see a blush rise on Sophie's cheeks.

I roll my eyes and lead the way out of this carpeted hell and back to the car, trying to ignore the fact that I think Sammy might be right about this one.

--- --- --- ---

Walking into the big warehouse, I can practically feel Sophie starting to freak out next to me.

"Relax Soph or you're gonna get us busted" I whisper and I can hear her take a deep breath. She stands up taller and stops wringing her hands.

"Good girl" I whisper and I can see the corner of her mouth fight to hide a smile.

Looking at the man in the booth we both flash him our fake IDs, he's not even looking at us and nods us through. Perfect.

"Okay"... Soph says starting to look round at the wreckage. I plug up the EMF and even with the headphones I can hear her heels clicking on the concrete floor.

"Um, Dean, what is that"? Soph asks looking at the thing in my hand sceptically.

"It's an EMF meter—reads electromagnetic frequencies" I say.

"Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is, but why does that one look like a basterdised Walkman"? She asks, raising a thin eyebrow and I almost lose my concentration.

"'Cause that's what I made it out of. It's homemade" I say proudly. Took me frickin' hours to make this thing!

"Okay" she says smiling and turns back to the wreckage as do I. Suddenly the EMF starts beeping like its gonna explode.

"Hey Soph, check out the emergency door handle" I say and she walks over to the door. Soph wipes something off of the door.

"What is this stuff"? She asks

"Only one way to find out" I say smiling and scrape some of it off into a plastic bag. Soph looks suspiciously at the stuff on her finger and I wipe it off with my jacket sleeve and she smiles up at me.

"Okay, we better get outta here Nancy Drew" I say trying to ignore the electricity running through me from her smile. We leave the warehouse via the back door, just in case.

We both look at each other when we hear an alarm sound through the complex.

"Time to go" Soph says and we both start running toward the fence blocking our escape. I shrug off my jacket and Soph kicks off her heels. Throwing the jacket over the barb wire at the top we both climb the fence and jump over it. Soph grabs the jacket on her way down and we see Sam pull up alongside the exit.

"Huh. These monkey suits _do_ come in handy" I say as we run to the car, throwing the door open Soph' slides in to the front seat and I squish in next to her.

"Drive"! I say and Sam pulls away in a cloud of smoke.

A few miles from the warehouse Sam slows down and Soph's laugh fills the car.

"Wooh, that was fun, let's do it again". She says looking up at me with a smile, strands of her hair falling from her hair do, a small blush on her cheeks from the adrenaline.

"You're such a freak Jones" I say and she leans her head against my shoulder, letting out a breath of relief.


	34. Chapter 34

**Thank youo so much for the reviews guys - more are always welcome!!!! Okay, so next chapter by the younger Winchester brother. For some reason I'm suddenly having problems writting in Sam's POV so I hope this is okay?! Anyway, I don't own (thought I wish I did the car) so don't sue.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Chapter 34

"We should head back to Jerry's, see what kinda crap this stuff is" I say sliding the plastic bag back to Dean who hurriedly shoves it in his jacket pocket.

"Well, whatever it is, it smells funky" Dean says, sniffing at the white stain on his sleeve.

The waitress comes over to our table and cheerily asks what we want and before either me or Dean open our mouths Sophie's straight in their!

"I'll have a cheeseburger with extra fries and a large chocolate milkshake please".....

"Okay sweetie and you boys"? She asks

"Uh, hamburger and a coke for me" I say looking over at Soph who looks like she's gonna chew off the waitresses arm!

"Steak Philly sandwich and a Coke thanks" Dean says, smiling up at the waitress who writes down the order and disappears to the kitchen.

We both look over at Soph.

"What.........adventure makes me hungry" she exclaims and goes back to doodling on a napkin.

---- ---- ---- ----

"I think I'm gonna explode" Soph says as she walks back to the car, her hand on her stomach.

"Hey Jones, no puking in the car. You gonna blow chuck, you do it on the sidewalk" Dean warns and she slides into the back seat of the Impala.

Climbing into the passenger seat, Soph wraps her arms round my neck and rests her head against my shoulder.

"Hey" she says.

"Hey" I say back, ignoring the summersaults my stomach is doing.

"Okay, motel"? Dean asks as he starts the car

"Definitely, if I have to spend another hour in this stupid secretary get up, I'm gonna scream" Soph says and as soon as she said it I can see images of Soph flash across my mind! I think Dean may be having the same trouble; his grip in the steering wheel is turning his knuckles white! Quickly banishing these thoughts I can hear a phone ring.

"Hey Danny" Soph says unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, um we're in Indiana". She lies.

Dean's driving is becoming hazardous as he flings the car round a corner.

"Um, nothin' much, probably go and see a movie tonight, get pizza. Nothin' special" she lies and I feel guilty that she has to lie to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, they're good" she says, looking up into the rear view mirror at Dean who slams his foot to the floor, making the Impala lurch forward angrily.

"Uh, listen Danny, I gotta go but I'll call you later okay"?

"Okay, bye" she says, and hangs up.

An uncomfortable silence fills the car, suffocating us but I can see the motel sign along the road and Dean pulls into the lot and slams on the brake and slams the door behind him as he gets out the car.

"What's his problem" Soph says.

I just shrug at her but I know exactly why he's pissed off. Course, I'm not gonna tell her that.

Swinging open the door to the motel Dean's already changed. Soph' doesn't even look up at us and Soph just grabs her duffel and heads for the shower.

"You ok man"? I ask, but Dean just shoots me a look but I'm not putting up with anymore of his shit.

"Look Dean..."

"Shut up Sam" Dean says and opens the door so fast I think it's gonna come off its hinges!

Jerk.

"Soph, you ready"? I yell

"Yeah, just a sec" she yells back and a moment later two legs wrap round my waist and I hear a stream of giggles from above me.

"Jeez Soph, this was easier when you were 17" I say and she promptly slaps me upside the head.

"Sorry"

"Go Sammy, go"! She giggles and I head out the door with Sophie on my back, clumsily locking the door behind me.

* * *

"Huh. This stuff is covered in sulphur" Jerry says, looking at the stuff Dean and Soph found on the wreckage.

"You're sure"? I ask.

"Take a look for yourself..." he says and then yelling erupts from the hall "... If you fellas will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire"

I see Sophie's big brown eyes widen with surprise and I can't help but notice how long her eyelashes are.

And there it is again.

The guilt.

"Hmm. You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulphuric residue" Dean says, looking through the microscope.

"Demonic possession"? Soph suggests and Dean looks over at her, trying to hide his smile and I can feel my blood start to race through me and I feel a definite urge to punch something!

"It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch" He says, not taking his eyes off her.

Okay Sam, get a frickin grip!

"If the guy was possessed, it's possible" I say, letting out a heavy sigh, hoping that will release some of the tension that's building.

"Yeah, but this goes way beyond floatin' over a bed or barfin' pea soup. I mean, it's one thing to possess a person, but to use 'em to take down an entire airplane"? Dean says sceptically.

"You ever heard of somethin' like this before"? I ask

"Never" Dean says and out of the corner of my eye I can see Soph looking up at Dean with worry and I take a deep breath and try to push the guilt to the back of my brain.

"Okay, we should probably head back and see if we can't dig up some information on what we're dealing with" Soph says, standing up.

"I love a woman with a plan" Dean says with one of those _smiles _and I don't actually think he's joking. Of course, Soph blushes and nervously tucks her long red hair behind her ears and heads out of the room, me and Dean trailing behind.

"Hey, you guys finished"? Jerry asks as we walk past.

"Yeah thanks for the help Jerry" Dean says and we all head out to the car.


	35. Chapter 35

**And another chapter, this time we get Sophie's POV. Hope you like it, if you do please send a review, they make me write quicker ; D**

**I don't own anything, so no suing please.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Chapter 35

I've been looking at the screen so long I feel like my eyes are actually vibrating in my skull.

"So..." Sam says suddenly, making me jump ".......every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean, Christian, Native American, Hindu—you name it"

"Yeah, but none of 'em describe anything like this" Dean says from his spot in the bed, surrounded by half read books and newspaper clippings. He's cute when he gets his research head on.

I mean, not that he isn't cute anyway, not that I should be thinking that anyway!

"Well, that's not exactly true. See, according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease" Sam says and I stretch out of my chair and walk round to his laptop. Sam scrolls down the page at some ancient legend that I can barely see 'cos of my buzzing eyes.

"And this one causes plane crashes"? I ask, Sammy just shrugs.

"All right, so, what? We've got a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count"? Dean asks.

"Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one"? Sam says enthusiastically. He thinks he's found it, I don't really like what he found, and neither does Dean going by the expression n his face.

"What"? Sammy asks and I slump onto my bed, running my hands through my hair. It's been a loooong day!

"I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons—they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big" Dean says.

"You know, I wish Dad was here" he says quietly and I can feel my heart break. I just want to wrap my arms round him and tell him everything will be okay!

But I can't.

"Yeah. Me, too" Sammy says sadly and I look over at him and smile encouragingly. My poor boys, this is really putting them through hell.

Suddenly, the melodious tunes of Motorhead fill the room and Dean grabs his cell phone from his bed.

I'm not really listening to the conversation, my head is killing me and all I want to do is sink into a nice, scolding hot bubble bath and unwind with a beer.

Perfection.

"Yeah. Let's go" I hear Dean say and he taps my sneaker.

"Common Soph" he says,

"Where we goin" I ask tiredly.

"Nazareth" He says and we all head out to the car.

---- ---- ---- ----

Pulling up to the accident site, the sky is lit with the orangey glow of the fires and filled with thick, grey smoke that I can smell even inside the car.

Cutting off the engine, Dean grabs two fake IDs from his magic box and throws one in Sammy's lap.

"Stay here Soph" he says and for the first time ever I don't have the energy to argue. I just nod my head and sink into the back seat.

"Seriously, no fight this time" Dean asks, making me smile.

"You better get outta here before I change my mind" I say, resting my head on the back of the seat, trying to ignore the exquisite fluttering of my heart in my chest, and failing.

My eyelids feel like they're made of led and they slowly close........

A loud bang makes me jump and I realise I'd fallen asleep!

Dean starts up the car and there's a weird kinda tension in the air as we head away from the site.

"So....." I ask, running my hands through my hair and trying to surreptitiously wipe the drool from my cheek.

Sammy flings a plastic bag into my lap and leans over the back of his seat.

Looking at the contents of the bag it looks like a piece of metal with some funky, crusty stuff on it.

"Sulphur"? I ask, Sammy shrugs but by the look on his face he seems to agree.

"So we go back to Jerry's and get him to confirm, then we definitely know we're dealing with a demon for sure" I say, handing the bag back to Sammy.

Silence reigns again.

Leaning forward I wrap my arms round Dean's neck and lean my head against his, trying desperately to ignore the _Dean smell_ suffocating me.

"Hey, you okay" I ask softly. Dean squeezes my arm in the affirmative and I slink back into the back seat. Trying to hold onto the _Dean smell_ as much as I can while I can feel my heart breaking.

---- ---- ---- ----

"Sulphur"? Dean asks, Jerry nods.

"Well, that's great. All right, so, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him" Dean says quickly and I physically wince at his tactlessness.

"With all due respect to Chuck, um….if that's the case, that would be the good news" Sammy says.

Much better Sammy.

"What's the bad news"? I ask.

"Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into flight. And get this—so did Flight 2485" Sammy says.

"Forty minutes? What does that mean"? Jerry asks.

"It's biblical numerology. On Noah's Ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death" I explain quickly.

"I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in" Sammy says, just as quickly.

"Any survivors"? Dean asks with hope in his eyes.

"No". Sammy says and I can see the light go out in Dean's amazing green eyes "...Or not until now, at least—not until Flight 2485, for some reason. And the cockpit voice recorder—remember what the EVP said"?

"No survivors" I say, trying not to sound ghostly.

"It's goin' after all the survivors. It's tryin' to finish the job" Sammy says and I can feel an uneasy knot form in my stomach all the way up to my chest.

"We gotta get hold of the other survivors" I say heading out of the room, the boys on my trail.

---- ---- ---- ----

"Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey, and if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks" I say and hang up the cell phone.

"All right, that takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flyin' anytime soon" I say, wobbly crossing out their names on the list. I hate writing in moving cars.

"So, our only wildcard is the flight attendant, Amanda Walker" Dean says, looking up at me in the rear view mirror.

"Right. Her sister, Karen, said her flight leaves Indianapolis at 8 PM. It's her first night back on the job" I say trying to ignore how that last but could be misconstrued, heehee.

Stop it Sophie, very inappropriate!

"That sounds like just our luck" Dean says, smacking his palm down on the steering wheel.

"Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man. Even with you behind the wheel" Sammy exclaims.

"Why don't you call Amanda's cell phone again—see if we can't head her off at the pass" Dean says nervously.

"I've already left her three voice messages Dean. She must have turned her cell phone off" I say.

"God, we're never gonna make it" Sammy says, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

"Oh, we'll make it" Deans says and the Impala shoots forward as he puts his foot to the floor, making the car growl.

Several hours of tension filled driving and at least 15 more voice mails left on Amanda's phone we pull into the airport car park.

We all clamber out of the car and run to the nearest information board.

"Right there. They're boarding in thirty minutes" Sammy yells, pointing up at the board.

My insides are twisting and my blood is racing through my veins.

"Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone" Dean says, looking round wildly for a courtesy phone.

I spot one and run over to it, the boys following.

I pick up the receiver and......

"Uh......" I start, having no idea what Dean was planning.

Dean grabs the receiver.

"Hi. Gate 13—I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on Flight, um…" Dean stumbles.

"424" Sammy says quietly

"...Flight 424".

"Come on....." Dean yells, obviously on hold.

"Miss Walker. Hi, this is Dr. James Headfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here" Dean says in the best Doctor voice he can pull off, which, to be honest isn't very good.

"Nothing serious—just a minor car accident. But she was injured, so..."

"You what"?

Oh no, this isn't going well.

I can feel the knot in my stomach twist painfully.

"Uh, well….there must be some mistake" he says.

This is probably one of the most frustrating phone calls in the history of frustrating phone calls! I just wanna grab the phone and yell at her!

"Guilty as charged" Dean says and I have no idea what the hell is going on, I hate this job!

"He's really sorry"

"Yes, but he really needs to see you tonight, so...."

"Don't be like that. Come on, the guy's a mess, really….it's pathetic"

"Oh, yeah"

I hate being on only one end of a conversation. Sam is getting just as frustrated as I am.

"No, no, wait, Amanda.... Amanda? Damn it! So close" Dean yells as he bashes the phone down on the receiver so hard I think it's gonna come off the wall.

"All right, it's time for Plan B. We're getting on that plane" Sammy says, starting to walk over to the check in desks, me following quickly behind.

"Now, just hold on a second" Dean says behind us and I look round in total confusion, what the hell is he playing at!

"Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash" I say.

"I know"! He yells

"We're getting on the plane Dean, we need to find that demon, and exorcise it. Look, I'll get the tickets. You and Soph just go and get whatever you can out of the trunk, whatever will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes" Sammy says, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

Dean looks like he's gonna throw up and I can feel panic rise in my chest.

"Are you okay"? I ask, moving closer

"...No, not really" He says and I have to hold onto the urge to have a full blown panic attack. Dean doesn't get scared, ever!

"What's wrong"? I ask, looking up at him.

"Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh...." he starts and it all clicks into place.

"Flying"? I ask and he instantly gets defensive about it.

"It's never really been an issue until now" he yells. Running my fingers through my hair I can only think of one other option.

"Um...all right. I'll go" I say, walking back toward the car but Dean grabs my arm, spinning me around.

"What"? Dean asks.

"I'll do this one with Sam, you stay here" I say trying to wiggle free from his grip, and failing.

"What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash" He yells at me and I can see the panic in his eyes.

I look down at my feet and take a deep breath.

"Yeah the plane might crash but I mean, we can't not try" I say with a sigh but Dean doesn't move.

"Look, Dean, we can do this all together, or I can do this one with Sam myself, it's your choice but I mean, you need to make it in the next 3 seconds" I say, trying to ignore the fact that he's now holding me in his arms.

---- ---- ---- ----

"Just try to relax" Sam says looking over at Dean who is not looking so great.

"Just try to shut up" Dean says through gritted teeth and as the plane takes off he twists his fingers in mine and holds on so hard I think my hand is gonna break off! But I squeeze back and try and hide a smile.

"Are you humming Metallica"? Sam asks

"It calms me down" Deans says, trying not to actually move his mouth. We've been in the air for about 5 minutes and he hasn't let go of my hand.

Jesus Sophie! You could at least try and focus!!!!

"Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you've got to stay focused" Sam says

"Okay" Dean says, not even trying to relax. I start rubbing circles on his hand with my thumb to try and calm him down, trying to drown out the sound of my heartbeat throbbing in my ears.

Trying to ignore how good his hand feels in mine.

"I mean, we've got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism" Sam whispers.

"Yeah, on a crowded plane, that's gonna be easy" Dean shoots back.

"Just take it one step at a time, all right? Now, who is it possessing"? Sam asks, looking round at the other passengers.

"Well, it's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armour that the demon can worm through—somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress" Dean says hurriedly and he squeezes my hand again.

"Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty freaked out" I whisper.

"Mm-hmm" Dean says and a flight attendant passes us in the aisle.

"Excuse me. Are you Amanda"? I ask the pretty woman.

"No, I'm not" she says with a smile.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake" I say and she walks to the back of the plane where another attendant is standing.

"All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so….I'll go talk to her and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state" Dean says.

"What if she's already possessed"? I ask, holding onto his hand a little tighter.

"There's ways to test that..... I brought holy water" he says pulling out a bottle from his bag which Sam quickly snatches away.

"No, I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God" Sam says.

Nice, Sam.

"Oh. Nice" Dean says, getting up though he hasn't actually let go of my hand and Sammy throws me a weird look.....okay.....

"Hey" Sam says

"What"? Dean asks, dropping my hand quickly, leaving it tingly.

"Say it in Latin" Sam says

"I know" Dean says, walking away.

"Hey"! Sam says

"What"?! Dean says through gritted teeth.

"In Latin, it's "Cristo" Sam says

"Dude, I know, I'm not an idiot"! Dean says, walking to the back of the plane.

There's a weird vibe coming from Sam and I don't like it. I have the feeling he's actually pissed off at me, he's never pissed at me, me and Sam, we're like....the best brother and sister ever!

"Peanut" I ask, holding out the complimentary bag to Sam with a smile, trying to break the weirdness.

Sam sighs and smiles at me.

"Sure" he says, popping a few in his mouth. Good, back on track.

My heart races again as Dean sits back in his seat though it sinks to my stomach when he doesn't take my hand again.

"All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet" Dean says, strapping his seatbelt back on.

"You said "Cristo"? Sam asks

"Yeah" Dean says

"And"? I ask

"There's no demon in her. There's no demon _getting_ in her" He says, breathing heavily.

"So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone….anywhere" I say just as the plane hits turbulence.

Dean grabs my hand so hard I have to choke back a squeal.

"Come on! That can't be normal"! He yells

"Hey, hey, it's just a little turbulence" I say softly, squeezing his hand.

"Soph, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treatin' me like I'm friggin' four"! He yells at me.

Okay, time for tough love.

"You need to calm down Dean" I say quite sharply, still squeezing his hand.

"Well, I'm sorry, I can't"! He says, turning to face me, panic written all over his face.

I ignore my heart breaking, he has to calm down!

"Yes, you can" I say

"Stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap, it's not helping"! Dean says.

Right, that's it!

"Listen, if you're panicked, you're wide open to demonic possession, so you need to calm yourself down right now" I say harshly, Dean lets out a long breath and I try and hide the victorious smile.

"Good" I say and squeeze his hand, he squeezes back and my heart leaps around in my chest.

Sam opens up John's journal, pulling my attention back to the job at hand.

"I found an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work—the ritual Romano" he says.

"What do we have to do"? Dean asks.

"It's two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful" he says.

"More powerful"? I ask

"Yeah" Sam says, flicking through the pages.

"How"? Dean asks

"Well, it doesn't need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own" Sam says

"Oh, and why is that a good thing"? Dean asks and starts to hum quietly again.

"Well, because the second part sends the bastard back to hell, once and for all" Sam says with a smile.

"First things first—we've got to find it" Dean says, holding my hand tighter again.


	36. Chapter 36

**Last chapter in this episode, and of course, it has to be Dean (little fangirl sigh).....Please review!!!!**

**No suing!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Chapter 36

Walking down the aisle,, the EMF reader isn't flagging anyone up when something hit's me from behind and I feel like my bones have jumped out of my skin!

"Don't do that"! I say, Sam just rolls his eyes at me.

I can't wait to get off this dumbass plane.

"Anything"? He asks and I shake my head.

"No, nothin'. How much time we got"? I ask and Sam checks his watch

"Fifteen minutes. Maybe we missed somebody" He says and I the knot in my stomach twists painfully, again.

"Maybe the thing's just not on the plane" I say hopefully.

"You believe that"? Sam asks.

"Well, I will if you will" I say but he just shoots me a don't-be-such-a-jerk look and I shrug.

Suddenly, the high pitched scream of the EMF meter gets my attention as the co-pilot walks out of the restroom.

"What? What is it"? Sam asks but I'm not paying attention.

"Cristo" I say and the guy just looks at me with completely black eyes and disappears into the cockpit.

Shit.

---- ---- ---- ----

"She's not gonna believe this" Sam says as we stop by the back of the plane which is closed off by a curtain.

What other option do we have!

"Twelve minutes, dude" I say and I pull back the curtain.

"Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope" Amanda says, smiling.

"Actually, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about" I say as Sam closes off the curtain.

"Um, okay. What can I do for you"? She says, a little nervous.

"All right, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole "The truth is out there" speech right now" I say quickly. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can get on the ground!

"All right, look, we know you were on Flight 2485" Sam starts.

"Who are you guys"? She asks, obviously a little freaked out.

"We've spoken to some of the other survivors. We know something brought down that plane, and it wasn't mechanical failure" Sam continues.

"We need your help because we need to stop it from happening again, here, now" I say.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm very busy" She says and tries to slip by me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? But listen to me—the pilot from 2485, Chuck Lambert—he's dead" I say, holding her arm.

"Wait, what? Chuck is dead"? She asks, her eyes a little watery.

"He died in a plane crash. Now, that's two plane crashes in two months. That doesn't strike you as strange"? I ask, she has to believe us! She has to!

"Look, there was something wrong with 2485. Now, maybe you sensed it, and maybe you didn't, but there's something wrong with this flight, too" he says with those big puppy dog eyes.

"Amanda, you have to believe us" I say and she hesitates.

"On….on 2485, there was this man. He….had these eyes" She says, frightened.

"Yes, that's exactly what we're talking about" Sam says enthusiastically.

"But I don't understand. What are you asking me to do"? She says, chewing her bottom lip, like Sophie does when she's nervous.

Stop it Dean, focus!

"Get the co-pilot. We need you to bring him back here" I say

"Why? What does he have to do with anything"? She asks

"Don't have time to explain. We just need to talk to him, okay"? I say encouragingly.

"But how am I supposed to go into the cockpit and get the co-pilot...."

"Whatever it takes. Do whatever it takes. Tell him there's something broken back here. Whatever will get him out of that cockpit" Sam interrupts and she looks like she's gonna throw up.

"Do you know that I could lose my job if....."

"You're gonna lose a lot more than that if you don't help us out" I say, releasing her arm.

She sighs.

"Okay" she says and heads off to the cockpit.

Peaking through the curtain, Amanda does as she's told and both her and the co-pilot head our way.

Glancing over at Sophie, she looks up at the co-pilot and smiles nervously as he passes and I can feel my heart leap out of my chest a he checks her out.

Grabbing the holy water and dad's journal we wait for the demon to walk through the curtain.

As soon as he steps through the curtain I swing a right hook at him and pin him to the floor, covering his mouth with duct tape.

"What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him"! Amanda yells at us.

"We _are_ gonna talk to him" I say through gritted teeth while pining the freak to the floor as Sam throws the holy water on him. Seems to have done the trick, he's starting to fizz.

"Oh, my God, what's wrong with him"? Amanda asks, high pitched panic in her voice.

"We need you calm. We need you outside the curtain. Don't let anybody in, okay? Can you do that"? Sam asks, no response.

"Amanda"!

"Okay. Okay" she says and stands behind the curtain.

"Hurry up, Sam. I don't know how much longer I can hold him" I yell as the guy starts to squirm free.

Sam starts the exorcism and the demon throws me back, knocking the holy water from Sam's hand.

Suddenly both me and Sam are thrown back against the side of the plane.

Then, my heart starts beating so loud it almost drowns out the sound of Sophie reading the rest of the exorcism.

"Sophie, I told you to stay where you were"! I yell but she ignores me and keeps on reading. The demon rips the tape off his mouth and throws Sophie against the wall and she drops to the floor, holding her head.

"Sophie"! I yell but she seems to be disorientated and doesn't get up or even look at me. My heart feels like it's gonna break out of my chest.

The demon moves so quickly, I don't have time to stop him before he slams Sam up against the wall.

"I know what happened to your girlfriend"! He hisses and Sam's eyes open so wide I think they might fall out!

"She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning"! He yells and I run at him, knocking him to the floor.

"Sam! Don't listen to him Sam" I yell and Sophie starts reading again.

Sam jerks back into action and helps me pin the demon to the floor as he screams.

Sophie stops, holding her head and the demon smiles, throwing us flying and knocks the journal from Sophie's hands

The demon opens his mouth so wide I think he's gonna break the guys jaw and leaves his body in a freaky black mist, and flies through the air vent.

The co-pilot just lays motionless on the floor.

"Where'd it go"? Soph asks

"It's in the plane. Hurry up, we've got to finish it" I yell and both me and Sam run along the aisle to the journal. Sam grabs it just as the plane starts to fall from the frickin' sky!

"DEAN"!

Sophie yells my name and I can see her holding her head, her hand is red.

Oh God, she's bleeding!!

I feel like I'm gonna be sick.

"SOPHIE" I yell as she falls to the floor, unconscious, or worse!

My throat is dry and I can barely breath as I run back to her.

Sam starts yelling the rest of the exorcism and the plane keeps diving and I've almost reached Sophie when I'm thrown up against the wall again. The plane continues to dive. DEAN tries to move but is once again thrown up against a wall.

Sam yells the last few sentences' of the exorcism and the demon screams, leaving the plane like a lightning bolt.

The plane levels out and the rest of the passengers start to relax a little.

I fall to my knees next to Sophie and try and look at the massive gash on her head. Her hair is matted with blood and it's slowly trickling down her neck.

"Shit" I say

"Sophie" I say, shaking her shoulders gently.

Nothing.

I feel like my heart has actually stopped.

"Sophie" I say "Com'mon Soph"! I whisper and I can see her thick eyelashes flutter.

She opens her big brown eyes and I think my chest is gonna explode.

"Ow" she says, holding her head, bringing her hand back looking at the blood dripping from it.

"Damn, why does this always happen to me" she whispers and tries to sit up.

"Hey, take it easy Soph", that's one hell of a bump you got there" I say, wrapping my arm round her shoulders, holding her up.

She smiles a little and Sam stands over us.

"Jeez Soph" he says and she looks up at him embarrassed.

---- ---- ---- ----

"There you go miss, all fixed" the paramedic says, tapping her knee and Soph slides down off of the back of the ambulance with a big bandage round her head.

"Not one word" She says before either me or Sam can crack a joke.

"Let's get out of here" I say and Sam wraps his arm round Soph, silently walking behind.

"You okay"? I ask

"Dean….it knew about Jessica" Sam says, stopping.

"Sam, these things—they read minds. They lie. That's all it was" Soph says, looking up at him with those big doe eyes and I suddenly wish it was me with my arm round her.

Stop it Dean.

"Yeah" Sam says, totally unconvinced.

"Come on Sammy" Soph says, pulling him toward the car.

Outside the airport, by the car, Jerry's waiting for us.

"Hey Jerry" I say.

Soph leans against the car with Sam and rests her bandaged up head on his chest.

"Y'know, nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed" He says

"Yeah well....." I start

"Your dad's gonna be real proud" he says and I try and hide a smile.

Jerry looks over at Soph.

"How about you kid? You gonna be alright"? He asks her and she smiles.

"Yeah, just a bump, no biggie" she says

"We'll see you around, Jerry" Sammy says and Jerry starts walking into the airport.

"You know, Jerry"? I call after him.

"Yeah"?

"I meant to ask you—how did you get my cell phone number, anyway? I've only had it for, like, six months" I ask.

"Your dad gave it to me" He says smiling.

"What"? Sam asks, narrowing his eyes.

"When did you talk to him"? I ask quickly.

"Well, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number, and his voice message said to give you a call" He says. "Thanks again, guys" and he walks into the airport and I look over at Sam, he's thinking the same thing.

What the hell is dad up to!

---- ---- ---- ----

"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean at 866-907-3235. He can help"


	37. Chapter 37

**Okay, so I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in like, a million years. But I have had such computer nightmares........still, here is the first chapter of the next episode. I know it's been a while but I really hope you review as you all know how much I love them : D**

**Please don't sue me - I don't own anyything!**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

Chapter 37 – Bloody Mary

"Sam, wake up" I hear someone yell and I open my tired eyes and look round confused.

"I take it I was having a nightmare" I say, not really needing a reply. I _know_ I was. I feel Soph wrap her skinny arms round my neck and rest her head on my shoulder and I'm too tired to try and stop my stomach twisting.

"Yeah, another one" she says quietly, sadly. I squeeze her arm and smile.

"Hey, at least I got some sleep" I say, yawning.

"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this" Dean says, not looking over at me. He never was good with talking about stuff so I change the subject.

"Are we here"? I ask

"Yup, welcome to Toledo, Ohio" Dean says.

Picking up the newspaper from the dashboard I scan through the circled article and Soph unwraps herself from me and slinks into the back seat.

"Shoemaker, Steven- The Shoemaker family is sad to announce the sudden death of their beloved husband and father…"

"So what do you think really happened to him"? I ask, flinging the paper back on the dashboard.

Dean pulls up outside the county hospital.

"That's what we're gonna find out. Let's go" he says enthusiastically and we all get out of the car and head over to the hospital.

--- --- --- ---

The thing I hate most about morgues, apart from them being filled with dead people, is that it's always so cold. I cuff the collar of my jacket and throw my arm round Soph's shoulders, pulling her in close. She looks up at me with one of those smiles and I almost trip up on my own feet.

Smooth Sam.

I let my arm slip down Soph's shoulders as we walk into the morgue. We meet one of the morgue….workers? Not sure of the correct job description…

"Hey" the guy says, looking at Soph.

I really hate working with Soph sometimes. I mean, it constantly sending me on a rollercoaster. Jealousy, anger, lust…..shut up Sam.

"Hey" Dean says, forcing the guy to look at him and stop checking Soph out.

"Can I help you"? He asks.

"Yeah. We're the uh...med students" Dean lies. Soph scuffs her sneakers on the hard concrete floor nervously. You'd think that he'd think of personas _before_ we strike up a dialogue?

"Sorry"? he asks, confused.

"Oh Doctor Figlavitch didn't tell you? We talked to him on the phone. We uh…We're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper" Dean lies again and I try to stop my eyes rolling in my head.

"Well I'm sorry, he's at lunch" the guy says.

Hmmmm.

"Oh well he said uh…Oh well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind showing us the body do you"? Dean asks, trying to be ass charming as possible but I don't think it's gonna work on this guy.

"Sorry, I can't. Doc will be back in an hour, you can wait for him if you want" the guys says, pointing toward the plastic chairs parked along the side of the small room.

"An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then" Dean says, looking up at me for confirmation.

"Yeah" I say, a little unconvincingly and I can feel Soph slip behind me and lean against my back.

"Uh look man, this paper's like half hour grade, so if you don't mind helping us out" Dean asks. He's getting antsy.

"Oh look man, no" the guy says and I try and hide a laugh. Dean turns his back on the guy with a very un amused look on his face.

"I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear" he whispers and I try and hide a smile and then I can see his eyes bug out of his head and Soph slips in front of us and sits on the guys desk.

Umm…not quite sure…umm..

She's hiked up her skirt, unbuttoned a few buttons at the top of her shirt, revealing a tiny peak at her white bra underneath and let her hair down out of her ponytail and it's all, flowey and big.

Ummm….

"Listen, we really need this break mister" she says looking up at him thick eyelashes.

"I uh.." the guy starts

"I'm sure you wouldn't get into trouble, we'd be in and out of there real quick" she says sweetly with a smile.

"Okay, I mean, if it will help you get your grade" he says, blatantly staring down her shirt.

"Follow me" he says, leading the way. Soph turns round and smiles victoriously at the both of us. I don't know about Dean but I'm not really sure I can walk right now.

She takes a few quick strides toward us and pulls at our arms.

"I don't hike it up for just anyone okay, so get your butts moving" she whispers sternly and we all follow the guy into the examination room.

--- --- --- ---

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding" I ask the guy, who looks over at Soph, who smiles sweetly at him, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Dean gripping the side of the table so hard his knuckles have gone white.

"More than that. They practically liquefied" The guy says, pulling back the sheet on the body. Soph tries not to look like she's gonna freak out but I know she is not enjoying this.

"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him"? Dean asks forcefully, not letting go of the table.

"Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone" the guy says.

"What's the official cause of death" Soph asks, placing the end of her pencil on her bottom lip and I don't think I have ever wanted to be a pencil so much in my entire life.

"Uhhhh…Doc's not sure. Massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure" he says, not taking his eyes off Soph.

"What do you mean"? I ask

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen" the guy says.

"The eyes—what would cause something like that"? I ask.

"Capillaries can burst……" he starts but then is distracted by Soph flicking her hair over her shoulder again "…See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims" he finishes.

Oh my God, I just want to put a big baggy jumper over her and punch him in the face so hard…..

Cool it Sam. Do your job.

"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs"? Dean says with a slight smirk when Soph throws a look over at him.

"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor" the guy says.

"Think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh…our paper" Dean asks.

"I'm not really supposed to show you that" the guy says.

"Please"? Soph says, with a small pout.

--- --- --- ---

"Might not be one of ours. Might just be some freak medical thing" I say as we all head back out of the building.

Soph ties her hair back and buttons up her shirt again.

"Yuck" Soph says "next time, can we just pay the guy"?

"Oh I don't know Jones, I think you may have unlocked a whole new way for us to get information" Dean says, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Don't go there Winchester" she scowls at him.

"Hey, you started it…" he says "…what do you think Sammy? We hike this skirt up some more"? he says, tickling her sides and she squirms away, giggling.

"Okay children" I say, feeling the jealously bubble underneath my diaphragm.

"Alright. How many times in dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death"? Dean says, wrapping his arm round Soph.

"Uh, almost never" I say, looking down at my shoes.

"Exactly" Dean says.

"All right, let's go talk to the daughter" I say and we all clamber back into the Impala.


	38. Chapter 38

**Another chapter, slowly but surely..............please don't sue, I don't own anything!**

**Enjoy **

* * *

Chapter 38

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I fish it out. Dean looks up at me in the rear view mirror and I flick my eyes up at him and quickly stuff my phone back in my pocket. Tearing my eyes away from him I stare out the window, I'll call Danny back later.

We pull up at the Shoemaker house and climb out of the car and I try and calm my beating heart and ignore the way Dean is looking at me.

Walking into the house I quickly realise that we've crashed Mr. Shoemaker's funeral. I can instantly feel my stomach twisting painfully, I_ hate_ funerals.

"Feel like we're underdressed" Dean says and I swat him on the arm and we continue walking through the house until we're out in the back yard.

The garden is full, but I spy a few girls hanging out by the collapsible chairs.

"Look" I say, pointing discreetly to the girls and we all walk over to them and I can feel my nerves bump up a notch. I hate lying to children.

"You must be Donna right"? Dean says quietly to one of the little girls.

"Yeah" she answers

"Hi uh—we're really sorry" Sammy says with a sympathetic smile.

I'm keeping my mouth shut and try not to concentrate on the fact that Dean's coat keeps brushing against my leg.

"Thank you" Donna says.

"I'm Sam, this is Dean. We worked with your dad" Sam lies effortlessly and I suddenly get a horrible thought. If they can lie so well, have they ever lied to me? No, they wouldn't do that. We're like family – I quickly banish the thought.

"You did"? Donna asks.

"Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke" Dean continues but Donna looks up at me suspiciously.

"Who's she" she asks accusingly.

"She's my girlfriend" Sam says quickly, taking my hand in his and smiling.

I think my head is actually going to explode and I try very, very hard to ignore how good that sounded. But my heart s racing and my head still feels like popping.

"I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now" one of the other girls says, wrapping her arm round Donna.

"It's okay. I'm okay" Donna says with a small smile.

"Were there any symptoms? Dizziness? Migraines"? Dean asks.

Sammy squeezes my hand and I can barely breathe. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ME!!!!

"No" Donna says.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke" the smallest girl says.

"Lily don't say that" Donna says quickly.

"What"? Sam says, releasing my hand and I thank God. I can breathe normally again, what the hell is going on!? My whole body feels like its vibrating!

"I'm sorry, she's just upset" Donna says.

"No, it happened because of me" Lilly says, a few tears falling from her tiny eyes and I can feel my heart break.

"Sweetie, it didn't" Donna says, throwing her arm over her.

"Lily," Sam says, bending down to be eye lever with her " why would you say something like that"? He asks gently.

"Right before he died, I said it" she says quietly.

"You said what"? Sam asks.

"Bloody Mary- Three times in the bathroom mirror. She took his eyes, that's what she does" Lilly says and I can feel a cold shiver run up my spine and I try and hide it.

I HATE the legend of Bloody Mary.

Dean stands up next to me and places his hand on the small of my back and I can feel the electricity shoot straight through me.

"That's not why dad died. This isn't your fault" Donna says.

"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he"? Dean says softly.

"No I don't think so" Lilly says, wiping at her eyes and I can feel my heart break for her. Poor kid.

--- --- --- ---

Walking through the Shoemaker's house, I get an overwhelming sense of dread and I instantly want to be anywhere else but in this house and I'm trying very hard to not freak out completely.

Suck it up Soph!

"The Bloody Mary legend- Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing"? Dean says and I feel my stomach leap into my throat.

"Not that I know of" Sammy says and we all walk into the bathroom and there is still dried blood on the floor.

God, I wish we never even came here! I try and control my breathing.

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, no one dies from it" Sammy says and I feel very light headed.

"Yeah well maybe everywhere it's just a story but here it's actually happening" Dean says.

That's it.

"I'm gonna head back out to the car guys, I'm not feeling to hot" I say and Sam spins round and looks down at me.

I'm practically hanging off the towel rail, I feel really clammy and hot but cold at the same time.

"Jesus Soph, you look terrible" Sammy says, shocked.

"Thanks Sammy" I say, trying to smile.

"You go on ahead Soph, we'll meet you back at the car" Dean says handing me the cars, not looking at me.

I stumble along the hall, down the stairs and out the door and I can't stop myself from actually running to the car, jamming the car key in the lock and practically throwing myself in the car. Locking the door behind me.

What the hell is wrong with me. Okay, so I don't like the Bloody Mary legend. Why the full on panic attack? I mean, I have dealt with demons and ghosts, this is just the same gig right!?

I breath in deeply, letting the comforting, familiar smell of the work leather seats and the overall aroma of Dean and Sammy fill my lungs and slowly I can feel my heart resume it's normal rhythm. I keep my eyes closed until I can hear Dean and Sam walking back to the car.

They climb into the car and I resist the overwhelming urge to just squish myself in between them and never let them go.

"Busted" Sammy says as they settle back into the car

"Huh" I ask eloquently

"Charlie busted us checking out the place" Sammy elaborates.

"Oh" I say, totally not with it.

"Hey kid.." Dean says, looking up at me in the rear view mirror "..You okay"?

"Mmmmhhhmm" I say, nodding.

"Okay" he says, unconvinced and starts up the car with a growl and peels out.

"Where we going" I ask, leaning back against the cool, back seat of the Impala.

"The library, see if we can't dig up something on this Bloody Mary deal" Sammy says and I swallow, hard.

--- --- --- ---

I like libraries. The smell of old, dusty books, the quiet.

"Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof—like a local woman who died nasty" Dean says, slowly wrapping his arm round my waist and pulling me into his side.

My heart thumps painfully in my chest and I hold my breath.

"Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more" Sammy says a little disheartened.

"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for"? Dean asks me when we reach the correct section.

"Umm, okay, every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror" I say, and my heart flutters as Dean locks eyes with me. I know he's only doing it ;cos he wants me to concentrate and not freak out again.

"So we've gotta search local newspapers, public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill" I say, a little breathlessly.

"Well that sounds annoying" He says with a smile and I can feel my knees start to weaken.

"No it won't be so bad, as long as we…" he starts, turning toward the computers.

They are all out of order.

I take it back. This will be very annoying" Sammy chuckles.

--- --- --- ---

We pull up outside of the closest motel to the library, we are all tired and I can't wait to sink myself into a hot, bubble bath.

"I'm gonna go get us a room" Dean says and throws the keys over to Sammy.

I pop the trunk and haul all of our bags out, slinging them over my shoulders and stalk over to the reception where Dean is paying for our room.

Sammy jogs up beside me after locking up the car.

"Need a hand with those" He asks, looking down at me with a small smile.

"No, I got it" I say huffily and then I stop in my tracks.

"Sorry Sammy, I didn't mean to get snippy. I guess I'm just tired" I say and hand him a few of the bags.

He takes them and then slips mine off of my shoulder and throws it over his own.

I smile my thanks and Dean leads the way to our room.

Unlocking the door I fling myself onto the nearest bed and just lay there. I can here the boys chuckling at me.

"I'm gonna go get some beer and food" Dean says and I can hear the door close.

Sammy walks around the room and I can instantly feel a heavy tension in the air so I pretend to be asleep.

I hear Sammy flop onto one of the beds and soon he's snoring loudly. He's so cute.

After a while of just laying in the dark I haul myself up off the surprisingly comfy bed and walk into the bathroom and I nearly have a panic attack when I see my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"Eeew" I say to myself and pin a towel over the mirror. Much better, no more temptation.

I close the bathroom door and run the hot tap into the bath.

After a while the bath is full of lovely hot water and white fluffy bubbles. I undress quickly and sink into the blissful water. I close my eyes and try and stop the repeat button in my head going over every single time Dean has looked at me or held me close, but it does it anyway.

I hear Dean unlock the front door.

"Soph" he whispers loudly (if that's possible). He must've seen Sammy was asleep.

"I'm in here" I whisper-yell "I'll be out in a bit"

But instead of waiting, Dean just walks into the bathroom and sits himself down on the loo.

"Ummm…okay" I say but he just ignores me.

Okay, so if I wasn't in such a totally relaxed state I would totally be freaking out right now. I mean Dean is sat a few inches away from me and I'm naked in the bath!!!!!!!

Lucky I put like a whole bottle of bubble bath in then I guess! The more bubbles the better!!!!

Okay so I'm freaking out a little……

"So what was up with you today Jones"? He asks me quietly and hands me a cool beer, not actually looking at me.

I slowly take a sip and let the cold liquid make it's way down my throat, feels nice against the heat of the water and I close my eyes. I press the cool, glass bottle against my forehead.

Chill out Soph!

"Nothing, I was just feeling a little..off. That's all" I say. "Promise" I open my eyes which was a big mistake cos he's looking at me like…well…like that and I think my heart has just stopped beating.

I can't breath…..look away Soph….SOPH!

"So what's with the towel"? He asks pointing with his beer bottle toward the covered mirror and looking back at me, like that.

It's suddenly got unbearably hot in here and I can feel a few more sweat beds travel down my head and neck and I try to remember to breath properly, or at all!

I take another sip of beer.

"It's nothing" I lie, and then wince slightly to prove it.

"Look Soph.." Dean starts, looking at the floor. I run my fingers through my hot, damp hair. I know what's coming…

"We all get jobs that are too much to handle, I mean, I didn't do to well on that plane a few weeks ago". He says quietly…. Only I'm not listening to him. I'm trying to drown him out because if I can't hear him, he's not actually sitting there while I'm in the bath.

"I know Dean..look, I can pull it together. I promise" I say, looking up at him and he locks his eyes on mine and for a few seconds there is nothing but us. No scary supernatural murderers, no constant moving around.

Nothing, just us.

He takes a deep breath.

"Okay Soph" He says after a while and leans back against the cistern and stretches his legs out, swigging his beer.

"Umm…..Dean" I say

"Hhhmmmm"

"Uh, get out" I say with a smile.


End file.
